PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


\eJ6n/e//y  c^r\^  OX^^-Vnor. 


Division ..  J-XD.  .4^.  .>^..l.  3 

6-<^r//^«...,»ri  S.^ 

helf. Number 


,._     ._    _     _ ..5f'^ 


iEAST"  AHI)  THE  "WEST" 


SAINT  PETER 


APOSTLE  OF  ASIA 


/ 

W.    S.    AUCHINCLOSS 


PHILADELPHIA 

1901 


Copyright,  1901 

BY 

W.    S.    AUCHINCLOSS 


PREFACE 


Born  in  Syria,  spending  his  early  manhood 
in  Galilee,  his  maturer  life  in  and  near  Jeru- 
salem, and  his  declining  years  in  countries  bor- 
dering the  Black  Sea,  the  Apostle  Peter  should  be 
known  in  history  only  by  the  title  of  Apostle 
TO  Asia.  Tradition  has  cast  such  a  glamour 
over  his  ministry,  that  his  name  in  our  day  is 
associated  mainly  with  Pome  and  the  Eomans. 
By  reason  of  this  strange  transplanting  of  facts 
from  the  East  to  the  West,  great  diversities 
have  arisen  among  christian  communities,  and 
the  future  will  be  a  repetition  of  the  past,  unless 
coming  generations  are  willing  to  turn  the 
search-lights  of  truth  squarely  upon  the  impor- 
tant events  that  transpired  between  the  years 
A.  D.  33  and  a.  d.  150.  Once  disclose  the 
3 


PREFACE. 

fact  that  actually  no  foundation  exists  for  a 
claim  to  preeminence,  and  you  remove  from 
among  Christians  one  of  the  most  potent  causes 
of  disagreement,  and  thus  in  large  measure  open 
the  way  for  true  fellowship. 

May  the  light,  which  comes  from  the  dawn 
of  the  christian  era,  dispel  the  twilight  of 
Tradition  and  prove  effectual  in  leading  many 
to  recognize  a  common  Brotherhood  in  the  one 
Lord  and  Master. 


CONTENTS 


Frontispiece 

Map 

PAGE 

Preface 

3 

I. 

Apostles  and  Prophets 
Early  Records 

7 
12 

II. 

Primitive  Worship 
Books  and  Libraries 
True  Meaning  of  Words 

19 
22 
26 

III. 

Changes  of  Titles 

Clement  to  the  Corinthians     . 
Letter  of  Diognetus 
Epistle  of  Barnabas 
Ignatian  Epistles    . 
Polycarp  to  the  Philippians   . 
Books  of  Papias     . 
The  Didache  .         .         .         . 
Justin  Martyr 
Shepherd  of  Hermas 

33 
34 
37 
39 
40 
43 
45 
47 
50 
52 

IV. 

Cast  out  of  the  Synagogue  . 

56 

V. 

Forbidden  by  the  Emperor  . 
5 

62 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

VI.     The  Great  Departure 65 

VII.     Hidden  Mysteries 

.      70 

VIII.     The  Twelve  Thrones  . 

.       74 

IX.     The  East  and  the  West 

.       79 

X.     Saint  Peter  at  Kome   . 

84 

Peter  the  Rock  ?     . 

.       93 

XI.     Apostolic  Succession    . 

.       95 

Encroachment 

.       99 

Unity  in  Diversity 

.     101 

XII.     Tradition— Revelation 

103 

References 107 

iMroRTANT  Dates 

117 

Saint  Peter's  Age 

118 

Saint  Paul's  Age 

119 

B.  C.  AND  A.  D.        .          .          . 

122 

Index     

125 

ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 


Apostles   and   Prophets. 

It  is  far  from  our  purpose,  to  single  out  any 
one  of  the  organizations  existing  among  chris- 
tians, and  hold  it  up  as  the  luminary,  around 
which  all  others  should  revolve,  or  into  which 
all  others  should  be  merged.  Rather  would  we 
demonstrate  the  fact,  that  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  our  era,  no  such  fellowship  was  contem- 
plated. That  the  outlines  of  Divine  Worship 
provided  for  a  broad  and  generous  indepen- 
dence, suited  to  every  phase  of  human  develop- 
ment and  taught  Avith  unmistakable  plainness, 
that  such  superior  control  among  disciples,  was 
foreign  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 
7 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Let  us  journey  backward  over  the  pages  of 
history  and  search  out  the  group  of  influences 
that  laid  a  foundation  for  the  earliest  claim  to 
preeminence. 

About  seventeen  centuries  ago  the  life-work 
of  the  Apostle  Peter  was  for  the  first  time  put 
forward  as  the  basis  of  this  claim.  Since  these 
cycles  belong  to  the  superstructure^  we  shall 
look  for  the  foundation  facts  among  the  Writ- 
ings of  the  first  and  second  centuries.  The 
testimony  of  the  1700  years,  possesses  all  the 
weakness  which  characterizes  a  mass  of  hearsay 
evidence,  after  it  has  worked  its  way  through 
unknown  and  doubtful  channels.  It  is  there- 
fore without  weight,  in  comparison  with  the 
evidence  furnished  by  the  New  Testament 
and  by  the  Writings  of  the  first  and  second 
centuries,  and  should  be  rejected  as  worth- 
less. 

Our  first  duty  will  be  to  ascertain  what  recog- 
nition should  be  given  to  the  Prophets.     The 
8 


APOSTLES  AND  PROPHETS. 

next  step,  to  discover  what  were  the  forms  of 
primitive  worship  and  when  came  the  radical 
departure.  We  shall  then  inquire  particularly 
as  to  St.  Peter's  field  of  labor. 

Very  few  realize  the  great  truth  that,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  ministry,  our 
Lord  was  engaged  in  gathering  and  training 
a  large  body  of  apostles  and  prophets 
who  should  go  forth  and  make  disciples  of  all 
Nations. 

Although  this  fact  is  distinctly  stated  in  the 
New  Testament,  a  narrow  and  contracted  notion, 
viz.,  that  the  Eleven  Apostles  icere  the  only  dis- 
ciples of  any  importanGe,  took  possession  of  the 
popular  mind  at  an  early  date  and  crowded  out 
the  view  set  forth  in  the  gospel.  This  perver- 
sion of  the  truth  was  both  unjust  toward  the 
majority  and  baleful  in  its  influence.  It  was 
fostered,  however,  by  interested  parties  and 
persistently  maintained,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
very  little  was  known  about  the  individual  his- 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

tory  of  the  Apostles  and  only  three  of  their 
number  ever  contributed  anything  to  christian 
literature.  Notwithstanding  this  small  show- 
ing, the  names  of  the  Eleven  have  been  given 
to  all  sorts  of  places,  societies  and  institutions, 
beside  which  they  have  been  idealized  on  can- 
vas, in  marble  and  in  stained  glass.  This  con- 
stant laudation  in  everyday  life  has  made  their 
names  so  familiar,  that  some  believers  in  our 
day  accept  any  form  of  worship,  doctrine,  or 
creed — labelled  with  one  or  all  of  their  names 
— as  having  conclusive  evidence  of  authority, 
without  seeking  to  discover  icho  did  the  labelling, 
or  making  inquiry  as  to  whether  the  original 
Eleven  had  anything  to  do  with  its  inception. 

Hence  it  is  very  important  to  learn  as  much 
as  possible,  about  that  large  body  of  men  whose 
presence  was  indicated  by  such  passages  as  the 
following : 

"  THEY   that    were   about   him   with   the 

TWELVE. 

10 


APOSTLES  AND  PROPHETS. 

THEM  that  were  with  them. 

The  Eleven  and  all  the  rest. 

THESE  MEN  wliich  have  companied  tuith 
us  all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went 
in  and  out  among  us,  beginning  from  the 
baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same  day  that 
he  was  taken  up  from  us.^'^ 

With  the  above  and  kindred  passages  in 
sight,  surely  there  is  no  excuse  for  thrust- 
ing these  trained  disciples  into  the  back- 
ground ;  for  did  not  our  Lord  give  them  per- 
sonal instruction,^  assure  them  "  your  names  are 
written  in  heaven,'^  and  send  them  forth  as 
laborers  into  his  harvest?  Beside  the  group 
contained  men  of  Apostolic  power  and  fervor, 
who  were  factors  of  equal  imj^ortance  in  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,  consequently  entitled  to 
equal  prominence  with  the  Eleven. 

We  therefore  pass  beyond  the  narrow  and 
contracted    view,    which    clamors    for    things 
Apostolic   only,    and    rest    upon   the   broader 
11 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

platform   of   the   New  Testament   which  em- 
braces both   APOSTLES   AND   PROPHETS.^ 

Early  Records. 

Intense  interest  will  always  cluster  around 
the  early  records  of  Christianity.  These  be- 
long to  a  transition  period,  when  the  Temple 
service  and  the  Sinai  law  were  replaced  b}^ 
simple  forms  of  Christian  worship  and  by  the 
gospel  of  ^^  Peace,  good  will  to  men.''  If  the 
change  had  been  characterized,  by  the  same 
completeness  of  detail  as  the  "  pattern  showed 
in  the  Mount,"  the  forms  of  church  service  and 
church  government  would  now  be  as  rigid  as  a 
plaster  mould,  without  flexibility  or  elasticity. 
Happily  for  the  cause  of  unity  and  fellowship 
in  our  day,  no  stress  was  laid  on  such  details, 
l)ut  the  largest  freedom  was  given  by  the  an- 
nouncement, ^^  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that 
worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and 
in  truth.''^ 

12 


EAKLY  KECORDS. 

Oiir  Lord  gathered  many  disciples  during 
the  first  year  of  his  ministry,  but  did  not  send 
one  of  them  to  preach  the  Gospel.  He  how- 
ever employed  them,  in  the  Avork  of  baptizing 
converts.^ 

Daring  the  second  year,  he  chose  out  of  that 
company  twelve,  and  sent  them  forth  to 
preach  the  Gospel.*"  They  were  to  serve  also 
as  WITNESSES  to  the  twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.'^ 
Meantime  our  Lord  gave  private  instruction  to 
^'  THEY  that  loere  about  Mm  with  the  twelve " 
as  to  how  parables  should  be  translated,  because 
unto  THEM  was  ^^  given  to  know  the  mystery 
of  the  kingdom  of  God."^ 

During  the  third  year,  he  chose  and  "  ap- 
pointed other  SEVENTY  also^'  to  supply  the 
increased  demand  for  laborers  in  his  harvest,^ 
and  sent  them  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
When  their  trial  trip  was  ended,  they  returned 
and  gave  a  full  report  of  all  which  had  hap- 
pened.^^  Note  specially  that  the  twelve  also 
13 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

returned  after  their  trial  trip  and  "  told  him  all 
that  they  had  done."'^  Showing  that  one  and 
the  same  system  governed  both  cases. 

On  the  evening  of  the  resurrection  day,  "  The 
Eleven  gathered  together,  and  them  that  were 
with  them."'^  The  numerical  strength  of  that 
Company  is  disclosed  in  the  account  of  the 
ascension. ^^  The  total  discipleship  exceeded 
500  souls/^  but  the  specially  trained  workers 
numbered  120.  These  tarried  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  until  the  day  of  Pentecost/^  Avhen 
the  Holy  Spirit  descended  and  endued  them 
ALL  with  power  from  on  high.^^  They  were 
thus  not  only  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel, 
but  were  further  equijiped  with  the  gift  of 
languages.  They  exercised  these  gifts  with  an 
ease  and  learning  that  caused  the  greatest  as- 
tonishment among  their  hearers.  Thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  Jewish  converts  were 
speedily  added  to  their  number. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  120  quickly  made 
14 


EAKLY  EECORDS. 

their  mark  throughout  Syria/''  and  soon  after 
throughout  the  entire  world.  The  New  Testa- 
ment omits  their  roll-call,  but  w^e  recognize 
their  dignity  and  ability  as  we  read  of  Ananias 
of  Damascus  '}^  "A  certain  disciple,  a  devout 
man,  of  good  report '^ — one  who  w^as  commis- 
sioned by  our  Lord  himself  and  who  exercised 
a  power  in  no  way  inferior  to  that  of  the  Apostle 
Peter.  His  field  of  influence  was  located  150 
miles  away  from  the  Eleven,  yet  he  worked 
without  calling  on  them  for  assistance,  and  on 
whomsoever  he  laid  hands  the  Holy  Spirit 
descended.  We  might  touch  on  the  services  of 
a  Stephen,^^  of  a  Barnabas,^*^  of  a  Silas,^^  and  of 
a  Luke,^^  but  must  pass  on.  The  New  Testa- 
ment declares  that  their  labors  were  signally 
blessed  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with 
them.^^  Evidently  there  was  no  disposition  on 
the  part  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  confine  his  work- 
ings to  the  Official  acts  of  the  Eleven ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  many  things  of  great  importance 
15 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

were  clone  without  their  knowledge  or  consent 
and  utterly  regardless  of  their  absence."*  From 
which  Ave  learn,  that  it  was  not  the  Divine  pur- 
pose, to  make  the  Eleven  a  sole  channel  for 
the  distribution  of  spiritual  gifts.  The  stream 
of  gospel  truth  had  many  channels  in  that  noble 
company  of  120  apostles  and  prophets. 

This  large  Avorking  force  was  scattered  on  or 
about  the  year  a.  d.  37,  Avhen  terrible  persecu- 
tions broke  out  in  Jerusalem  and  raged  as  far 
as  Damascus. 

Outside  of  Damascus,  the  Saviour  met  his 
bitter  opponent  and  converted  him  into  an  hum- 
ble follower.^''  A  season  of  rest  and  Divine 
instruction,  Avere  necessary  for  transforming 
Saul  of  Tarsus  into  Paul — the  grandest  char- 
acter in  christian  history.  The  time  was  spent 
in  Arabia,^^  and  in  a.  d.  40  Paul  began  work 
as.  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.^'  He  was  justly 
proud  of  the  distinction  and  describes  himself 
as  "  Apostle,  not  of  men,  neither  by  man,  but 
16 


EARLY  RECORDS. 

by  Jesus  Christ. "^^  The  same  year  that  Peter 
received  the  Gentiles  into  the  church  at  Cesarea 
this  Divinely  taught  champion  came  forth/^ 
fully  equipped  for  service.  He  journeyed  im- 
mediately to  Jerusalem  and  abode  with  Peter 
fifteen  days.^*^ 

The  Gospel  revealed  to  Paul  and  preached  by 
him  shed  a  new  light  on  Judaism,  so  that  dur- 
ing the  next  ten  years — A.  d.  40  to  A.  D.  50 — 
Christians  were  greatly  exercised  over  the  ques- 
tion of,  how  much  allegiance  they  owed  to  the 
Law  of  Moses. 

Their  contentions  led  to  the  assembling  of  a 
Council  at  Jerusalem  in  the  year  A.  D.  50.  Its 
deliberations  brought  relief,  in  the  form  of  a 
compromise  which  temporarily  consolidated 
both  parties,  viz.,  Jewish-Christian  with  the 
Gentile-Christian.  The  real  solution  of  the 
question  however  was  nigh  at  hand,  being  only 
twenty  years  distant ;  for  in  the  year  A.  D.  70 
Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Romans  and  the 
2  17 


ST.  PETEK,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

prophecies  of  Moses,  Daniel  and  our  Lord  found 
there  complete  fulfilment.  The  sacred  Books 
of  the  Law^'  and  the  furnishings  of  the  Temple 
were  carried  away  in  triumph,  while  the  build- 
ings were  despoiled  and  laid  waste.^^  With  these 
the  Mosaic  dispensation  passed  away  forever. 

Between  the  years  a.  d.  37  and  a.  d.  68  eight 
of  the  APOSTLES  AND  PROPHETS,  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  wrote  the  books  of  the  Xew 
Testament.  At  length  those  gifts  and  miracu- 
lous powers  which  were  conferred  on  all  the 
Disciples  as  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  their  mis- 
sion, gradually  were  withdrawn  as  one  by  one 
the  recipients  entered  into  rest. 

Thus  in  forty  years  a  single  generation  passed 
away  and  the  new  worship  was  fully  established. 


18 


•    II. 

Pri:\iitive    Worship. 

If  we  seek  the  characteristic  features  of  prim- 
itive worship,  we  must  look  to  the  close  of  those 
forty  years,  because  the  churches  of  A.  D.  70 
represent  whatever  the  Apostles  were  divinely 
ordered  to  establish.  Here  then,  is  the  great 
dividing  line  between  Revelation  and  Tradition. 
Above  the  line  must  be  inscribed  : 


Below  the  line  must  be  written  with  equal  plain- 
ness : 


THUS    SAITH    TRADITION. 

The  material  above  the  line  can  no  more  in- 
crease than  a  beautiful  rock  crystal  can  be  made 
to  grow.     The  material  below  the  line,  on  the 
19 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

contrary,  like  a  ball  of  snow,  has  steadily  in- 
creased as  it  rolled  down  thd  ages. 

It  must  be  evident  to  unbiased  readers,  that 
worship  during  the  forty  years  was  character- 
ized by :  Directness  of  appeal  in  prayer.*^'^ 
Marked  freedom  from  formality .^^  Constant 
expectation  of  the  Lord's  return.-^^  Also  that 
the  ministry  was  committed  to  Aposths,  Proph- 
ets, Evangelists,  Pastors,  and  Teachers."^^  In 
those  days,  devout  earnestness  and  freedom  from 
formality  were  conspicuous  virtues  ! 

Our  knowledge  of  the  times  comes  from  the 
following  sources : 

The  New  Testament      .     .     .     .  a.  d.  33-68 

Early  Writings "     69-150 

Cotemporaneous  History    ..."     33-150 

The  New  Testament  supplies  the  fundamen- 
tal facts,  early  writings  confirm  the  inspired 
word,  and  history  throws  light  upon  both  nar- 
ratives. 

20 


PRIMITIVE  WORSHIP. 

List  of  Early  Writings  : 
Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians,  A.  D.  69 

Letter  of  Diognetus "      80 

Epistle  of  Barnabas ''      90 

Three  Ignatian  Epistles '^107 

Epistle  of  Pulycarp  to  the  Philippians  ''    120 

Extracts  from  five  books  of  Papias  .  ^^    125 

TheDidache ^^130 

Apology  of  Justin  Martyr      .     .     .     .  "140 

Shepherd  of  Hermas "150 

The  list  is  small,  because  persecution  wrought 
sad  havoc  with  the  writings  of  the  early  chris- 
tians. We  learn  this  from  several  sources. 
Luke  tells  us  that  prior  to  the  publication  of 
his  Gospel  "Many  had  taken  in  hand  to  set 
forth  in  order ''  like  information.  Paul  alludes 
to  a  third  epistle  that  he  wrote  to  the  Corin- 
thians^^ and  Jude  intimates  that  one  of  his 
former  letters  treated  of  the  common  salva- 
tion.^^ All  of  these  writings  have  been  lost 
21 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

with  the  exception  of  Luke's  Gospel,  which 
found  its  way  into  all  the  churches"^^  at  a  very 
early  date. 

Books  and  Libra PtiES. 
We  are  prone  to  think  of  the  first  century  as 
anything  but  a  literary  period.  This  idea  is  a 
grave  mistake.  It  was  in  reality  an  age  abound- 
ing in  books.  Strabo,  the  greatest  geogra])her 
of  ancient  times,  Avrote  in  the  early  part  of  the 
century.  The  learned  writings  of  Seneca  ap- 
peared about  the  middle  of  the  century.  The 
books  of  the  Xew  Testament  Avere  all  comjioscd 
and  published  between  the  years  A.  d.  37  and 
68.  Pliny  the  Elder  gave  to  the  world  his  great 
work  on  "  Xatural  History  ^^  about  A.  D.  77, 
in  which  he  treats  instructively  of  20,000  dis- 
tinct subjects  and  names  more  than  300  Avriters 
whose  books  were  consulted  in  the  preparation 
of  his  own  five  volumes.  Josephus  wrote  his 
Jewish  Wars  and  his  Antiquities  A.  d.  75  and 
93.  Tacitus  wrote  his  celebrated  Annals  at 
22 


BOOKS  AND  LIBRARIES. 

the  close  of  the  century,  concerning  these  Pliny 
begged  that  his  name  might  appear  somewhere 
in  the  body  of  the  text,  for  he  was  convinced 
that  the  waitings  of  Tacitus  were  destined  to 
be  immortal.  Plutarch's  complete  Biographies 
add  one  more  star  to  the  literary  galaxy  of  the 
first  century  and  point  to  it  as  being  emphati- 
cally an  age  of  tvonderfid  puhlications. 

The  work  of  preparing  books  for  the  market, 
was  greatly  facilitated  by  Public  Notaries,  who 
were  able  to  take  down  in  shorthand,  the  words 
of  an  orator,  with  the  same  ease  as  the  dicta- 
tions of  an  author.  The  study  of  stenography 
was  a  part  of  the  regular  school  course  in  those 
days.  It  is  highly  probable  that  Luke  was  an 
expert  in  shorthand,  for  he  gives  us  verbatim  the 
speeches  of  Peter,  Stephen,  Paul,  and  Tertullus. 
Copyists  worked  for  extremely  small  wages. 
This  is  proven  by  the  fact,  that  the  market 
price  for  a  book  of  Epigrams  was  only  five 
denarii — about  seventy  cents  in  our  money. 
23 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Booksellers  were  numerous  in  Rome,  in 
Lyons,  and  in  other  large  cities.  They  dis- 
played on  their  doors  a  list  of  books  kept  on 
sale.  Pliny  the  Younger,  when  writing  to 
Geminius,  remarked  : 

"  I  did  not  imagine  there  were  any  Book- 
sellers in  Lyons,  and  therefore  was  the 
more  pleasingly  surprised  with  your  ac- 
count that  my  books  are  much  sold  there. 
It  is  a  satisfaction  that  they  maintain  the 
same  vogue  in  foreign  parts  as  they  haye 
at  Rome." 

The  fact  that  Ephesian  books  on  sorcery  alone, 
amounted  in  value  to  50,000  pieces  of  silver,^" 
gives  us  some  idea  of  demand  and  supply. 

Josephus'  experience  in  putting  books  on 
the  market,  reads  almost  like  a  chapter  from 
the  life  of  a  modern  author.     He  says  : 

'^Afterward  I  got  leisure  at  Rome,  and 
when  all  my  materials  Ayere  prepared  for 
the  work  ...  I  composed  the  History 
of  these  transactions.  ...  I  presented 
24 


BOOKS  AND  LIBRARIES. 

my  books  first  of  all  to  Vespasian  and 
Titus.  After  them,  to  many  of  the  Romans, 
who  had  been  in  the  War.  I  also  sold 
them  to  many  of  our  own  men.'' 

Evidently,  there  was  no  dearth  in  those  days 
of  what  we  would  call  printers  and  publishers, 
otherwise  Josephus  could  not  have  made  such  a 
liberal  distribution  of  his  noted  history. 

INIany  of  the  large  cities  had  Public  Libraries. 
There  Avas  a  Latin  library  at  Rome,  also  a 
Greek  library  brought  from  Athens  by  Sylla. 
A  library  at  Serapeum  with  43,000  volumes. 
Libraries  at  Pergamus,  Smyrna,  Corinth,  and 
Milan.  To  the  latter  Pliny  the  Younger  gave 
a  large  sum  of  money.  He  also  gave  a  library 
to  his  fellow-townsmen  at  Comum.  The  rage 
for  private  libraries  amounted  to  a  fad,  which 
the  moralists  of  the  times  reproved.  Some 
wealthy  citizens  had  as  many  as  20,000  or 
30,000  volumes  in  their  own  homes.  Paul,  in 
writing  to  Timothy,  begged  him  to  bring  from 
25 


ST.  PETEK,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Troy  "  the  books,  especially  the  parchinents.''^^ 
The  numerous  quotations  of  Clement  and  of 
Polycarp,  show  that  those  wi'iters  had  ready 
access  to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
give  additional  proof  of  their  rapid  circulation. 
Beyond  all  question  therefore,  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament  enjoyed  unusual  facilities 
for  prompt  publication  and  speedy  distribution 
among  the  churches,  Avhere  they  at  once  took 
rank  side  by  side  with  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.^^ 

True  Meaning  of  Words. 
Before  it  is  possible  to  grasp  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  early  writings,  we  ought  to  learn  the 
derivation  of  certain  words,  as  well  as  their 
significance  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times. 
It  will  not  do,  to  take  the  modern  sense  and 
read  it  into  the  literature  of  the  first  and  second 
centuries.  Such  an  abuse  would  do  violence  to 
the  facts  of  history,  for  it  would  change  the 
meaning  of  passages  in  which  the  Avords  ap- 
26 


TRUE  MEANING  OF  WORDS. 

pear.  The  same  is  equally  true  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament.  Take,  for  example,  the 
Epistles  written  by  Paul,  and  among  these  we 
include  the  book  of  Hebrews.^^  What  could  be 
more  natural  than  for  him  to  substitute  occa- 
sionally a  Greek  Avord,  for  one  of  Hebrew 
origin  ? 

Paul  was  well  versed  in  Greek  literature 
and  poetry  and  had  special  success  in  contend- 
ing with  the  Greeks.^^  Hence,  Avhen  speaking 
of  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  elders,  we 
find  him  saying,  "  Laying  on  of  the  hands  of 
the  presbytery,'^^^  presbyter  being  the  Greek 
word  for  Elder.  Again,  when  speaking  of 
Hoshea,^^  he  used  the  word  Jesus,  which  is  the 
Greek  equivalent  of  Hoshea  or  Joshua. 

Let  us  tarry  a  moment  over  the  word  bishop, 
the  Greek  Avord  for  Overseer,  because  rightly 
understood,  it  gives  us  the  key  to  the  lock  of 
early  church  government.  Who,  then,  Avere 
the  Os^erseers  or  Bishops  in  the  early  churches  ? 
27 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

We  rest  our  answer,  on  the  words  of   the 

highest  authorities  one  can  possibly  quote,  viz., 

the  .Vpostles  Peter  and  Paul. 

Paul   called    together    the    elders    of    the 

church  of  Ephesus  and  solemnly  enjoined  them 

in  the  following  language  : 

"  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and 
to  all  the  flock,  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the 
church  of  God/^^^ 

Peter,  in  writing  to  the  churches  of  Pontus, 
Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  spoke 
in  the  same  strain  : 

"  The  ELDERS  which  are  among  you  I 
exhort,  Feed  the  flock  of  God,  taking  the 
OVERSIGHT  thereof  willingly. "^^ 

By  Divine  command,  therefore,  the  elders 
were  the  overseers  or  Bishops  of  the  early 
churches.  So  important  was  this  duty  of  feed- 
ing the  church  of  God,  that  Paul  counted  it 
the  first  requisite  of  an  Elder,  and  states 
28 


TRUE  MEANING  OF  WORDS. 

with  great  minuteness  those  qualifications  that 
fit  one  for  being  an  Overseer  or  Bishop.^^ 
Throughout  his  entire  ministry  Paul  never 
under  any  circumstances  appointed  an  Overseer 
or  Bishop  ;  he  however,  "  appointed  eldees  in 
every  church  of  Lystra  and  Iconium/'^"  like- 
wise Titus  "  appointed  Elders  in  every  city  of 
Crete/' ^^  Just  so  far  as,  these  men  fed  the 
church  of  God — in  other  words,  ''  labored  in 
word  and  doctrine  '^  —  they  were  "  counted 
worthy  of  double  honor.''  Whence  we  derive  a 
group  of  four  words,  viz., 

ELDER  —  PRESBYTER OVERSEER  —  BISHOP, 

either  one  of  which  can  be  taken  to  express  all, 

because  the  words  were  used  interchangeably  by 

the  writers  of  the  ]N"ew  Testament.     Note  in 

this  connection  that  all  affixes  to  the  books  of  the 

New  Testament  are  of  modern  origin,  such  as  : 

"Timotheus  ordained  first  Bishop)  of  the 

church  of  the  Ephesians,"  "  Titus  ordained 

first  Bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Cretians." 

29 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

These  statenient-s  form  no  part  of  the  original 
text  and  very  properly  do  not  appear  in  the 
Revised  Version.  Also  note  that  the  word 
Bishopric  is  not  in  the  original.  The  quotation 
is  from  the  P^alms^  and  reads  thus:  "let 
another  take  his  Office."''-  We  learn  there- 
fore, that  in  the  modern  sense,  Bishops  and 
Bishoprics  had  no  existence  in  Xew  Testament 
times ;  also  that  two  classes  of  officers  existed 
in  the  early  churches, 

(  ELDEES  PEESBYTERS 

1....  X 

(^  BISHOPS  OVEESEEES 

2  .  .   .  .      DEACONS  and  DEACONESSES.  ^^ 

Dean  Stanley,  of  the  Church  of  England, 
put  the  case  very  clearly  when  he  wrote  : 

"  It  is  sure  that  nothing  like  modern  Epis- 
copacy existed  before  the  close  of  the  first 
century." 
We  come  next  to  a  class  of  words  that  have 
slipped  their  old  moorings  and  are  now  found 
30 


TRUE  MEANING  OF  WORDS. 

anchored  on  new  grounds.     Among  these  are 
the  following : 

New  Testament  Meaning.  Modern  Meaning. 

THE  WORLD. 
The  Roman  Empire.  Both  Hemispheres. 

A  PROPHET. 
The  bearer  of  a  Divine         One  who  foretells  future 
Message.  events. 

A  SAINT. 

A  living  follower  of  the         A   deceased   follower, 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  noted    during    lifetime   for 

asceticism. 

THE  CHURCH. 
An  assembly  of  followers,         All    followers    who     are 
located  in  a  single  city  or     governed  by   Bishops. 


ELDERS.  BISHOPS. 

Church  rulers  or  ministers        Rulers  of  the  Clergy, 
having  equal  authority  over 
the  Flock.  5* 

CHILDREN. 
New   converts,  both    the         Minors,  the  Young  only. 
Young  and  the  Old.^^ 

31 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

PASSOVER.  LENT. 

A   memorial  Feast,  done         A   memorial   Fast  intro- 
away  with  a.  d.  70.  duced  in  the  2nd  Century. 


In  New  Testament 
A  Barbarian 
Superstitious 
Testament     . 
Meat   .     .     . 
A  Candle  .     . 
Candlestick    . 
To  let .     .     . 
To  be  tempted 
To  appoint    . 
To  confirm    . 


In  Modern  Usage. 
A  Foreigner. 
Religious. 
Covenant. 
Food. 

An  oil  lamp. 
Tall  stand,  for  oil  lamp. 
To  hinder. 
To  be  tested. 
To  ordain. 
To  settle. 


III. 


Changes   of   Titles. 

With  the  foregoing  definitions  firmly  fixed 
in  mind,  let  us  now  search  the  Writings  of  the 
first  and  second  century,  in  quest  of  any  marked 
changes  in  the  titles  of  church  officers ; 
because,  on  the  principle  that  new  titles 
mean  new  duties,  the  advent  of  new  titles 
will  register  the  date,  or  period,  when  radical 
changes  were  for  the  first  time  introduced  in 
matters  of  worship. 

Clement,  a.  d.  69. 

This  writer  has  contributed  more  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  times,  than  any  one  of  the 
early  missionaries.  He  was  a  fellow-worker 
with  the  Apostle  Paul,'^^  and  wrote  a  noted 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  was  bound 
3  33 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

up    M'itli    the    books   of    the   New  Testament. 

Ensebius  speaks  of  it  in  the  following  language  : 
"  This  Epistle  has  been  publicly  read  in 
very  many  churches  both  in  old  times 
and  also  in  our  own  day.'"^^ 

The  original  must  have  been  wTitten  between 
the  years  a.  d.  67  and  A.  d.  70,  for  Clement 
speaks,  in  chapter  61,  of  the  daily  sacrifices  in 
Jerusalem ;  in  chapter  5,  of  Paul  having  been 
put  to  death,  and  in  chapter  1  he  says  the 
church  at  Rome  had  experienced  "  sudden  and 
successive  calamitous  events,"  probably  the 
persecution  in  Nero's  reign. 

The  oldest  copy  of  the  Epistle  is  found  in 
the  Alexandrian  manuscript  of  the  British 
Museum,  and  was  written  during  the  fourth 
century. 

Nominally,    it   was    the   response   of    "  the 

Church  of  God  which  sojourns  at  Rome,"  to 

an  inquiry  made  by  "  the  Church  of  God  which 

sojourns  at  Corinth." 

34 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

In  reality,  it  was  a  formal  opinion  delivered 
by  "  Pope  Clement  I.^'  on  the  subject  of  ministe- 
rial changes,  Avhich  by  the  way,  is  foil  of  inter- 
est in  our  own  time.  The  introduction,  "  the 
Church  of  God  which  sojourns  at  Rome,''  is 
Apostolic  in  wording.''^  The  Epistle  through- 
out is  remarkable  for  its  dearth  of  official  titles, 
as  well  as  the  seeming  equality  existing  between 
Rome  and  Corinth.  We  miss  such  words,  as  for 
instance.  His  Holiness  or  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
to  the  Bishop  of  Corinth,  and  remark  that  where 
dignities  or  titles  exist  the  majority  of  men 
are  sure  to  make  use  of  them.  It  must  not  for 
a  moment  be  inferred,  that  the  modern  style 
of  Bishop  existed  in  Clement's  time ;  on  the 
contrary,  each  individual  church  had  sevekal 
Bishops  or  Elders,  and  among  these,  there  Avas 
unity  without  pre-eminence,  for  he  tells  us  that 
the  Apostles  : 

"  Preaching  through  countries  and  cities, 
they  appointed  the  first  fruits  (having  first 

35 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

proved  them  by  the  Spirit)  to  be  Bishops 
and  Deacons  of  those  who  should  afterward 
believe.^^ 

Evidently  he  considered  this  no  mere  experi- 
ment, for  he  adds  : 

"  Nor  was  this  any  new  thing,  since  indeed 
many  ages  before  it  was  written  concerning 
Bishops  and  Deacons.  For  thus  saith  the 
Scripture  in  a  certain  place :  'I  will  aj)- 
point  their  Bishops  in  righteousness  and 
their  Deacons  in  faith.'  '^''^ 

In  another  place  he  says  : 

"  AYho  then  among  you  is  nobleminded, 
will  say  I  will  do  whatever  the  majority 
commands,  only  let  the  flock  of  Christ 
be  at  peace  with  the  Elders  that  are  set 
over  it." 

"Ye  therefore,  who  laid  the  foundation 
of  this  sedition,  submit  yourselves  to  the 
Presbyters  and  receive  correction  so  as  to 
repent,  bending  the  knees  of  your  heart.'' 

It  is  important  to  note,  that  "  Pope  Clem- 
ent I."  sent  the  malcontents  of  Corintli  to  the 
36 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

PRESBYTERS  of  their  own  church ;  not  to  one 
Presbyter,  called  a  Bishop,  but  to  many  Pres- 
byters, and  told  them  to  acknowledge  their 
guilt  publicly  before  those  officers.  Speaking 
of  the  past  he  says  : 

"  For  ye  did  all  things  without  respect  of 
persons  and  walked  according  to  the  laws 
of  God,  being  subject  to  those  who  had  the 
rule  over  you  and  giving  honor  such  as 
was  fitting,  to  those  who  were  the  Pres- 
byters among  you/' 

"  To  DiOGNETUS,"  A.  D.  80. 

Xext  in  point  of  time,  comes  the  Epistle  to 
Diognetus.  The  writer  of  this  first  apology  of 
the  christian  faith  is  unknown,  but  he  styles  him- 
self in  chapter  11  "a  disciple  of  the  Apostles.'' 
Ordinary  chronology  would  make  him  about 
fifty  years  of  age  in  a.  d.  80.  He  also  remarks, 
in  chapters  1,  2,  9,  that  Christianity  was  a 
"  new  thing "  in  the  world  in  his  day.  This 
beautiful  letter  contains  twelve  chapters 
37 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

addressed  to  "  Most  Excellent  Diognetiis/'  and 
closes  with  a  doxology  similar  to  the  one  used 
by  Clement.  No  allusion  is  made  either  to 
matters  of  church  government  or  to  officers. 
Evidently, this  ^vas  not  a  prominent  subject  of 
the  times.  The  letter  was  in  every  way 
worthy  of  one  who  claimed  to  be  a  "  Teacher 
of  the  Gentiles/'  and  was  calculated  to  build 
them  up  in  the  faith.  Incidentally  he  tells  us 
that  christians — 

'^Inhabiting  Greek  as  well  as  Barbarian 
cities  followed  the  customs  of  tlie  natives 
in  respect  to  clothing,  food,  and  the  rest  of 
their  ordinary  conduct^ 
This  shows  that  the  decrees  of  the  Jerusalem 
Council  A.  D.  50^^  lost  power  among  the  Gen- 
tiles soon  after  the  downfall  of  Jerusalem ;  also 
that  the  early  christians  \\qxq  not  singular  as 
regards  either  color  or  cut  of  their  garments. 
The    writer    speaks     of     fellow-christians    as 
"  Saints/'  precisely  in  the  language  of  the  New 

Testament. 

38 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

Epistle  of  Barnabas,  a.  d.  90. 

Next  in  order,  comes  the  epistle  of  Barnabas. 
The  Apostle  Barnabas  was  a  Levite,  this  writer 
was  a  Gentile.  In  chapter  16  he  speaks  of  the 
recent  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  fulfilment 
of  prophecy,  but  does  not  allude  to  the  persecu- 
tion of  christians  under  Domitian.  It  is  rea- 
sonable, therefore,  to  place  the  date  about  a.  d. 
90.  Barnabas  devotes  seventeen  chapters  to 
the  plan  of  salvation  and  the  remaining  four 
chapters  to  "another  sort  of  knowledge  and 
doctrine,'^  which  he  introduces  with  these  words, 
"  There  are  two  ways  of  doctrine  and  authority  : 
the  one  of  light  and  the  other  of  darkness." 
This  portion  of  the  Epistle  has  undoubtedly  been 
copied  by  the  Didache.  He  says  nothing  about 
church  officers  and  closes  with  the  doxology  : 

"  Farewell,  ye  children  of  love  and  peace. 

The  Lord  of  glory  and  of  all  grace  be  with 

your  spirit."     Amen  ! 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Ignatiax  Epistles,  a.  d.  107. 

Ignatius  was  born  about  A.  d.  30.  For  many 
years  he  had  charge  of  the  church  at  Antioch. 
He  suffered  martyrdom  at  Rome  A.  d.  107. 
There  are  fifteen  Epistles  bearing  his  name. 
Eight  of  these  are  undoubted  forgeries,  and  the 
remaining  seven  are  given  in  two  forms  in  the 
Greek.  Ever  since  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
there  have  been  great  contentions  over  these  ver- 
sions. Happily,  in  1 842,  a  Syriac  one  was  found 
in  a  convent  of  the  Xitrian  desert,  which  is 
more  in  keeping  Avith  the  times  of  Ignatius,  was 
written  in  the  language  of  Antioch,  is  free  from 
all  claims  to  special  revelation,  and  decidedly 
more  scriptural  in  its  construction.  We  find, 
therefore,  that  the  fifteen  Epistles  boil  down  to 
three  in  number,  and  these  were  written,  respec- 
tively, to  Polycarp,  to  the  Ephesians,  and  to  the 
Romans. 

The  epistle  to  Polycarp  is  just  such  an 
one,  as  we  would  expect  from  an  aged  minister 
40 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

about  to  give  up  the  charge  of  his  church.     He 

says: 

"Be  studious  of  unity.  Bear  with  all 
men.  Show  patience.  Be  steadfast  in 
prayer.  Ask  for  more  understanding 
than  that  which  thou  already  hast.  Be 
watchful.  Bear  the  infirmities  of  all 
men  as  a  perfect  athlete.  Stand  thou  in 
the  truth.  Let  not  the  Widows  be  over- 
looked and  let  nothing  be  done. without 
thy  will,  also  do  thou  nothing  without 
the  will  of  God.  Let  there  be  frequent 
Assemblies.  Ask  every  man  to  them  by 
his  name.'' 

Ignatius  gave  the  following  charge  to  his 
people  : 

"Look  ye  to  the  Bishop,  that  God  also 
may  look  upon  you.  I  will  be  instead 
of  the  souls  of  those  who  are  subject  to 
the  Bishop  and  the  Presbyters  and  the 
Deacons.  AYith  them  may  I  have  a  por- 
tion in  the  presence  of  God.  Labor  to- 
gether with  one  another  as  stewards  of 
God.'' 

41 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

We  note  that  the  people  had  a  duty  as  well 
as  tlie  officers,  and  that  the  stewardship  was 
distributed  among  the  people  as  well  as  the 
officers. 

The  epistle,  "  To  the  church  who  is  at 
Ephesus "  warmly  commends  the  Ephesians 
and  is  entirely  in  accord  with  the  idea  that 
a  PEESiDENT  of  the  Elders  Avas  the  Pastor 
or  Angel  of  the  church  at  Ephesus.  The  parish 
must  have  been  a  small  one,  for  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  each  of  the  seven  churches  of 
Asia  had  its  Angel,  although  they  were  located 
only  a  few  miles  apart. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  prefaced  with 
the  following  words : 

'^  Ignatius,  who  also  is  called  Theophorus, 
to  the  Church  Avhich  presideth  in  the 
region  of  the  Romans  and  is  worthy  of 
prosperity  and  presideth  in  love  and  is 
perfected  in  the  law  of  Christ,  unblamable, 
wishes  abundance  of  peace." 


42 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

Since  he  twice  mentions  the  word  ''  preside  " 
in  this  one  short  sentence  it  is  evident  that 
Ignatius  was  no  stranger  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent. It  must  be  admitted  that  Ignatius  was 
discourteous,  in  failing  to  address  His  Holiness 
the  Pope  of  Rome,  or  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  if 
either  of  those  dignitaries  ruled  in  that  city. 
Without  making  the  faintest  allusion  to  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  he  told  the  Church  he  would 
soon  be  at  Rome  as  a  condemned  criminal,  and 
begged  the  christians  not  to  intervene  on  his 
behalf,  for  he  was  ready  to  meet  a  martyr's 
death.  We  find,  therefore,  that  the  text  of  the 
three  authentic  Epistles,  accords  with  the  early 
organization  of  the  churches. 

POLYCARP,  A.  D.  120. 

A  pupil  of  the  apostle  John,  named  Poly  carp, 
wrote  a  truly  evangelical  Epistle  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  about  the  year  A.  D.  120.  Having  re- 
turned from  Antioch,  he  settled  in  the  church 

43 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA, 
of  Smyrna  and  speaks  of  himself  in  his  preface 

as  a  PRESBYTER  AMONG  PRESBYTERS,  Using  the 

follo'wing  words  : 

"  Polycarp  and  the  Presbyters  that  are 
with  him,  to  the  church  of  God  which  is 
at  Philippi,  mercy  to  you  and  peace  from 
God  Almighty  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour  be  multiplied." 

Chapters  5,  Q,  and  11  are  devoted  to  the 
duties  of  Presbyters  and  Deacons.  Chapter  5 
closes  with  an  injunction  to  young  men  and 
virgins  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Wherefore  it  is  needful  to  abstain  from 
all  these  things,  being  subject  to  the 
PRESBYTERS  and  DEACONS  as  unto  God 
and  Christ." 

He  says  in  Chapter  6  :  "  Let  the  Presbyters 
be  compassionate  and  merciful  to  all."  The 
entire  epistle  is  saturated  with  Scripture,  and 
closely  approaches  the  writings  of  the  Apostles. 
Polycarp  closes  with  the  Doxology  : 
44 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

"Be  ye   safe  in   the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Grace  be  with  you  all.     Amen  !"^^ 

Since  he  was  born  about  a.  d.  65,  the  apostle 
John  must  have  been  ninety,  when  Polycarp 
was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  undoubtedly 
quite  feeble.  As  Polycarp  died  A.  d.  155 
there  is  good  reason  for  doubting  Irenaeus' 
claim,  that  Polycarp  was  able  to  speak  from 
memory  about  "  many  other  apostles,"  because 
he  was  scarcely  more  than  an  infant  when  they 
died.  In  chapter  12  Polycarp^^  says  :  "  Pray  for 
all  the  saints."  Since  there  is  all  the  difference 
in  the  world, between  praying  for  and  praying 
to  the  saints,  it  follows  that  prayers  to  the  saints 
must  have  been  grafted  on  to  the  service,  at 
some  later  date  and  therefore  were  unknown  in 
Polycarp's  time. 

Papias,  a.  d.  125. 

This  writer  lived  on  the  boundary  line  of  the 
apostolic  age.     He  was  born  about  the  year  70 
45 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

and  died  A.  D.  163.  Somewhere  near  A.  D.  125 
he  wrote  five  books  entitled  Explanation  of  the 
Lord's  Discourses.  Fortunately  both  Irenaeus 
and  Eusebius,  made  extracts  from  these  works 
or  his  writings  would  be  unknown  to  history, 
for  the  originals  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  a.  D. 
1 218.  His  method  of  gathering  material  is  best 
given  in  his  own  words  : 

^^  I  shall  not  regret  to  subjoin  to  my 
interpretations,  whatsoever  I  have  at  any 
time  accurately  ascertained  and  treasured 
up  in  my  memory,  as  I  have  received  it 
from  the  Elders.  If  then  anyone  who  had 
attended  on  the  Elders  came,  I  made  it  a 
point  to  inquire  what  were  the  words  of 
the  Elders  :  What  Andrew  or  what  Peter 
said,  or  Philip  or  Thomas,  or  James  or 
John  or  INIatthew,  or  any  other  disciples 
of  the  Lord  said ;  for  I  was  of  the  opinion 
that  I  could  not  derive  so  much  benefit 
from  books,  as  from  the  living  and  the 
abiding  voice." 
Papias  was  a  hearer  of  the  Apostle  John  and 
4G 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

a  friend  of    Polycarp.     He  alludes  to  church 
officers  in  the  following  words : 

"As  the  Presbyters  say  then,  those  who 
are  deemed  worthy  of  an  abode  in  Heaven 
shall  go  there.'' 
He   remarks   that :    "  The    early    christians 
called  those,  who  practised  a  guilelessness  ac- 
cording  to   God,  children.''     This  use  of   the 
word  is  in  harmony  with  the  practice  of  the 
New  Testament. 

The  Didache,  a.  d.  130. 

This  little  work  is  one  of  the  earliest  forms  of 
Catechism  known  to  the  christian  church.  It 
was  found  in  Constantinople  in  1875.  The  open- 
ing chapter  reminds  one  of  the  "  Two  Ways " 
spoken  of  in  the  epistle  of  Barnabas.  In  ad- 
dressing new  converts  the  writer  says  :  "  My 
child/'  quite  regardless  of  the  party's  age,  for 
later  on  he  applies  the  same  words  to  those  who 
had  sons  and  daughters.  The  writer  uses  many 
w^ords  in  a  New  Testament  sense,  for  instance : 
47 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

"And  thoii  shalt  seek  out  daily  the  faces  of 

the  Saints,  that  thou  mayest  be  refreshed 

by  their  words.'' 

He  does  not  tell  them  to  look  at  images,  icons 

or  pictures,  but  at  true  living  faces,  full  of  hope 

and  encouragement ! 

"My  child,  him  that  speaks  to  thee  the 
Word  of  God  remember  night  and  day, 
and  thou  shalt  honor  him  as  the  Lord." 

Again,  he  speaks  of  Sunday  : 

"  But  on  the  Lord's  day  do  ye  assemble 
and  break  bread  and  give  thanks  after 
confessing  your  transgressions." 

Not  a  confession  to  fallible  men,  but  to  the 
Lord. 

"  For  this  is  that  which  was  spoken  by 
the  Lord  :  '  At  every  place  and  time  bring 
me  a  pure  sacrifice.'  Whoever  is  holy,  let 
him  come  ;  whoever  is  not,  let  him  repent." 

Further  on  he  says  : 

"  Now  APPOINT  for  yourselves  Bishops 
and    Deacons   worthy  of   the    Lord,  men 

48 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

meek   and    not    avaricious,    and    upright 

and    prov^ed ;    for    they,   too,  render   you 

the  service  of  the  Prophets  and  Teachers. 

Despise  them  not,  therefore,  for  they  are 

the  ones  who  are  honored  of  you,  together 

with  the  Prophets  and  Teachers/' 

It  is  characteristic,  that  the  word  appoint 

indicates  the  practice  of  the  first  and  second 

centuries,  while   the  word  oPvDAIX  applies  to 

the  practice  of  the  third  century.     The  Eevised 

Version  reads : 

"And  when  they  had  appointed  them  Elders 

in   every   church.^'^-^ — "Set    in   order  the 

things  that  are  wanting  and  appoint  Elders 

in  every  city.'^^* 

Since  the  Didache  was  written  about  A.  d. 

130  we  recognize   in  its  bishops  and  deacons, 

just  such  men  as  those  described  by  the  Apostle 

Paul.    It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  each  church 

had  a  number  of  bishops  or  overseers,  and  they 

were  on  an  equality  with  prophets  and  teachers. 

The  writer  of  the  Didache  shows  special  anxiety 

4  49 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

to  prevent  their  being  ranked  as  inferiors  and 
enjoins  his  new  converts  to  despise  them  not. 
AVhat  folly  it  was,  for  him  to  use  such  language 
as  this,  if  their  bishops  were  men  of  preeminent 
authority  !  We  see  from  this,  that  the  lamps 
of  primitive  custom  were  still  burning  in  the 
churches  as  late  as  a.  d.  130 ;  but  to  guard 
against  any  question  being  raised  as  to  the  date 
of  the  Didache,  Ave  shall  give  positive  evidence 
carrying  our  date  along  at  least  another  decade. 

Justin  Martyr,  a.  d.  140. 

Justin  Martyr  was  born  in  Samaria  about 
A.  D.  114.  Part  of  his  early  life  was  spent  in 
Ephesus,  where  he  was  converted  to  Christianity. 
He  finally  settled  at  Rome  and  was  put  to  death 
A.  D.  165.  About  the  year  a.  d.  140  this  noted 
writer,  presented  his  first  Apology  of  Christian- 
ity to  the  Emperor  Antonius  Pius.  In  that 
document  he  gave  the  most  perfect  account  we 
have  of  christian  worship.     Regarding  church 

officers  he  says  : 

50 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

"  On  the  day  called  Sunday,  all  who  live 
in  cities  or  in  the  country  gather  together 
to  one  place,  and  the  memoirs  of  the  Apos- 
tles or  the  writings  of  the  Prophets  are 
read,  as  long  as  time  permits ;  then,  when 
the  Reader  has  ceased,  the  president  verb- 
ally instructs  and  exhorts  to  the  imitation 
of  these  good  things.  The  president 
offers  prayers  and  thanksgiving  according 
to  his  ability,  and  the  people  assent,  say- 
ing. Amen." 

Later  on  he  says  : 

"  And  to  those  who  are  absent  a  portion 

is  sent  by  the  Deacons." 
Regarding  alms,  he  says  : 

"  And  what  is  collected,  is  deposited  with 

the  PRESIDENT,  who  in  a  word,  takes  care 

of  all  who  are  in  need." 
The  word  President  is  defined  in  Justin's  OAvn 
account  of  the  Sacrament,  where  he  says : 

^'  There  is  then  brought  to,  that  one  of 

THE     BRETHREN     WHO     WAS     PRESIDING, 

bread  and  a  cup  of  wine." 
51 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

From  this  we  learn,  that  in  Justin's  day,  it 
was  still  the  custom  for  the  Elders  to  select  one 
of  their  number  to  act  as  President,  and  that  he 
conducted  the  services. 

Shepherd  of  Hermas,  a.  d.  150. 

This  book,  called  the  ' '  Pilgrim's  Progress  of 
the  Early  Church,"  was  Avritten  at  Pome,  by  a 
brother  of  Pius,  about  A.  d.  150.  It  is  a  spe- 
cially interesting  landmark,  for  it  fixes  the  time 
when  a  church  writer  found  it  necessary  to 
pause  and  explain,  a  new  meaning  which  had 
been  placed  on  the  venerable  word  Elder  or 
Presbyter.     In  his  Vision,  Hermas  speaks  of 

the    ^^  ELDERS  OF  THE  CHURCH. "^^ 

In  his  Similitude,  he  wrote  the  following  : 
"  For  what  concerns  the  tenth  mountain  in 
which  were  the  trees  covering  the  cattle ; 
they  are  such  as  have  believed  and  some  of 
them  been  bishops,  that  is,  presidents, 
of  the  Churches.'"'^ 

The  author  evidently  realized,  that  popular 
52 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 

usage  Avas  gradually  restricting^  the  meaning  of 
the  word  Bishop ;  that  the  custom  of  applying 
it  to  Elders  in  general,  was  falling  into  disuse, 
while  the  practice  of  applying  it  to 

'^  One  of  the  Brethren  who  was  Presiding '' 
was  steadily  growing  in  favor.  The  learned 
Jerome  [a.  d.  385]  tells  us  that  the  change  from 
a  government  by  Elders  to  a  government  by 
Bishops  was  of  slow  growth  and  progressed 
''  by  little  and  little.'' 

Pope  Damasus  says  the  final  transfer  was 
made  [a.  d.  140],  when 

"Hyginus  arranged   the   clergy  and  dis- 
tributed the  gradations/^^'^ 

Thus,  step  by  step,  we  have  travelled  over  the 
first  hundred  years  of  church  history  and  find 
it  characterized,  as  a  period  of  individual  exist- 
ence among  the  congregations.  All  changes  of 
title  or  office,  related  merely  to  a  certain  con- 
gregation in  a  given  city  or  town,  and  had  no 
reference  whatever  to  the  grouping  of  congre- 
53 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

gations  in  different  places,  for  either  offensive 
or  defensive  work.  This  system  of  individual 
government  was  in  perfect  accord  with  our 
Lord's  statement : 

"  Mv  kingdom  is  not  of  this  AYorld  :  if  my 
kingdom  Avere  of  this  world,  then  Avould 
my  servants  fight."^^ 

It  was  thought,  that  success  required  organiza- 
tion, of  an  entirely  differeut  character  and 
more  like  that  of  a  vast  army,  with  Corps, 
Brigades,  and  Regiments,  each  under  its  proper 
Officer,  and  all  under  one  Commander-in-Chief. 

This  military  view  of  the  kiugdom,  took  pos- 
session of  the  Jewish-Christians  about  A.  d.  140, 
when  they  began  to  group  many  churches 
under  one  Commander,  whom  they  called  a 
Bishop ;  several  Bishops  under  one  Arch- 
Bishop,  and  all  dignitaries  under  one  Com- 
mander-in-Chief. 

Before  we  proceed  with  the  investigation  of 
this  radical  change,  we  should  examine  more  in 
54 


CHANGES  OF  TITLES. 


detail  the  cotemporaneous  history  of  the  syna- 
gogue and  the  character  of  the  edicts  issued  by 
the  Emperors,  because  they  helped  pave  the 
way  to  the  great  departure. 


55 


IV. 

Cast   out  of  the   Synagogue. 

After  the  loss  of  their  temporal  power,  the 
Jews  turned  their  attention  to  the  maintenance 
of  spiritual  control,  and  about  A.  d.  35  the 
Sanhedrin,  or  religious  court,  was  removed 
from  Jerusalem  to  Yamnia,  a  sea-coast  toAvn 
between  Joppa  and  Ashdod,  where  they  started 
a  theological  school  and  reorganized  the  Avork. 
Other  schools  Avere  established  at  Lydda  and 
Cesarea,  but  the  most  noted  of  all  was  located  at 
Tiberias.  The  latter,  together  with  the  school 
at  Babylon,  rose  to  great  eminence  about  a.  d. 
200.  These  schools  trained  thousands  in  the 
written  and  the  oral  law.  The  written  law^^ 
consisted  of  the  five  books  of  Moses,  called  the 
Pentateuch.  The  oral  laAV  embodied  explana- 
tions given  to  Moses  during  the  forty  days 
in  the  Mount /"^  and  Avas  taught  by  icord  of 

mouth,     Moses  taught  it  to  the  seventy  Elders 
56 


CAST  OUT  OF  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 


(over  whom  he  presided),  and  committed  it  to 
Joshua,  his  successor.     Joshua  committed  it  to 
Othniel,  Othuiel  to  Ehud,  and  so  on  through 
a  line  of  forty  receivers. 
Chain  of  Keceivers  of  the  Oral  Law. 


1.  Moses. 

2.  Joshua. 

3.  Othniel. 

4.  Ehud. 

5.  Barak. 

6.  Gideon. 

7.  Abimelech. 

8.  Tola. 

9.  Jair. 

10.  Jephthah. 

11.  Abzan. 

12.  Elon. 

13.  Abdon. 

14.  Samson. 

15.  Eli. 

16.  Samuel 

17.  David. 

18.  Elijah 

19.  Elisha. 

20.  Hosea. 

21.  Amos. 

22.  Isaiah. 

23.  Micah. 


24.  Joel. 

25.  Jeremiah. 

26.  Ezekiel. 

27.  Simon  the  Just. 

28.  Antigonus. 

29.  Jose  Ben  Joser, 
Jose  Ben  Jochanan. 

30.  Joshua  and  Nathan. 

31.  Judah  ben  Tabbai, 
Simon  ben  Shetach. 

32.  Shemaiah. 
Abtalion. 

33.  Hilel,  B.  c.  30, 
Shamenai. 

34.  Simeon,  A.  d.  10, 
Jochanan. 

35.  Gamliel,  A.  d.  25. 

36.  Simeon  II. 

37.  Jochanan,  A.  d.  70. 

38.  Gamliel  II. 

39.  Simeon  III. 

40.  Eabbi  Judah, 
"The  Prince,"  a.  d.  130, 
President  of  Sanhedrin. 
67 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

It  was  the  custom  to  install  the  Rabbi  in 
Office,with  the  ceremony  of  Lay ing-on-of -hands. 
On  such  occasions  it  Avas  necessary  for  three  to 
officiate,  and  one  of  the  number  had  to  be  a 
direct  successor  of  Joshua  and  Moses. 

Many  of  the  Rabbi  were  men  of  profound 
learning.  Among  those  of  later  date,  may  be 
counted,  Hilel,  Gamliel,  and  Judah.  For  ages 
the  Jews  revered  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  would 
not  tolerate  the  thought  of  having  any  other 
book  than  the  Written  Law.  But  wars  and 
pestilences  made  them  fearful,  lest  they  lose  a 
Receiver  and  so  endanger  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Oral  Law.  They  therefore  decided  it  should 
be  written  out,  and  in  the  time  of  Hilel  began 
to  formulate  the  material. 

The  final  compilation  was  made  by  Rabbi 
Judah,  and  consisted  of  six  books  and  sixty- 
three  treatises.  It  was  called  the  mishna, 
and  was  regarded  with  veneration  by  the  Jews, 
as  being  the  authentic  body  of  the  Law.  It  ex- 
68 


CAST  OUT  OF  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 

presses  the  views  of  the  Pharisees.  The  phrase- 
ology, however,  proved  so  concise  and  difficult 
that  commentaries  were  necessary  to  settle  the 
final  meaning.  These  works  were  called 
GEMARA.  The  Mishna  and  Gemara  were 
united  in  A.  D.  232   and  formed  one  volume, 

the   TALMUD. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  standard 
Hebrew  text  was  the  work  of  the  Great 
Synagogue,  b.  c.  327 ;  also  that  a  Greek  text 
known  as  the  septuagixt  was  prepared  in 
B.  c.  284.  After  the  Maccabean  War,  b.  c.  140, 
the  Septuagint  was  enlarged  by  fourteen  books 
called  the  apocrypha.  Whatever  good  ma- 
terial can  be  gathered  from  these  books,  came 
originally  from  the  Old  Testament ;  and  since 
they  offer  nothing  of  value  apart  from  the 
quotations,  the  books  simply  degrade  the  sacred 
volume  by  their  presence.  The  truth  of  this 
assertion,  may  be  tested  by  anyone  who  will  take 
the  time  to  read  them  from  beginning  to  end. 
59 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OE  ASIA. 

Josephus^  Against  Apioii,  B.  I.  §  8,  says  tliat 
orthodox  Jews  never  recognized  the  Apocrypha 
as  a  part  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  schools 
therefore  rendered  excellent  service  when  they 
threw  them  out  of  the  Canon  and  affirmed  the 
integrity  of  the  original  Hebrew  text.  About 
A.  D.  130  the  Septuagint  was  revised  by  Rabbi 
Aquila.  Justin  Martyr  refers  to  that  edition 
in  the  following  language  : 

"  Your  Teachers  refuse  to  admit  that  the 
interpretation  (made  by  the  seventy  Elders 
who  were  Avith  Ptolemy,  King  of  the 
Egyptians)  Avas  a  correct  one,  and  they 
attempt  to  frame  another.^'^^ 

So  bitter  was  their  opposition  to  the  Septuagint, 
that  they  considered  it  an 

^'  Accursed  day  when  the  seventy  Elders 
Avrote  the  Law  in  Greek  for  the  King.^^ 

Although  the  Jews  looked  on  the  Mishna 
with  veneration,  their  leaders  did  not  confine 
themselves,  to  the  oral  law  as  given  on  Sinai. 
60 


CAST  OUT  OF  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 

Witness  a  remark  made  by  Trypho  to  Justin 

Martyr : 

''  Sir,  it  were  good  for  us  if  we  obeyed  our 

teachers,  who  laid  down  a  law  that   we 

should   have  no  intercourse  with  any  of 
you.'^^2 

From  which  it  is  evident,  the  Jewish-Christians 
did  not  separate  themselves  from  the  synagogue 
voluntarily,  but  were  literally  cast  out  and  spe- 
cial legislation  enacted  to  prevent  their  return. 


61 


V. 

Forbidden  by   the   Eimperor. 

Ix  accordance  with  tlie  laws  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  Judaism  in  common  with  other  religions 
of  the  day,  was  licensed  by  the  authorities.  It 
followed,  that  so  long  as  christians  worshipped 
in  Jewish  synagogues,  they  were  regarded  sim- 
ply as  a  sect  of  the  Jews.  The  Roman  deputy 
Gallio,  in  A.  D.  54,  drove  Jewish  and  Christian 
disputants  indiscriminately  from  the  judgment 
seat  j  because  both  were  regarded  as  subject  to 
the  Law  of  Moses,  which  was  included  among 
the  Religio  Licita  of  Rome.''^  As  the  Gospel 
preached  by  Paul,  gradually  developed  an  in- 
dependent existence  for  the  churches,  the  civil 
authorities  took  alarm  and  viewed  the  move- 
ment as  a  menace,  to  the  religious  sovereignty 
of  the  State.  Failing  in  mild  measures,  they 
resorted  to  persecution.  The  first  three  perse- 
62 


FORBIDDEN  BY  THE  EMPEROR. 

cations  occurred  in  the  reigns  of  Nero,  A.  d. 
65f*  of  Domitian,  A.  d.  95-96,  and  of  Trajan, 
A.  D.  106-1 17  J'  These  were  succeeded  by  seven 
others.  Finally  Christianity  was  recognized  by 
the  State  in  A.  d.  260. 

The  Emperor  Hadrian  issued  a  decree  in  the 
year  a.  d.  130,  aimed  directly  at  the  Jewish 
religion,  and  at  the  same  time  he  resolved  to 
colonize  Jerusalem  with  Romans.  The  Jews 
were  so  enraged  by  this  treatment,  that  they 
revolted  the  next  year,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  false  messiah,  Bar-Chochebas.  Whereupon 
the  Romans  with  a  large  army  conquered  Judea 
a.  d.  135 ;  reduced  to  ashes  985  towns  and 
villages,  razed  50  fortresses,  and  slew  in  battle 
580,000  Jews.  Justin  Martyr  speaking  of  the 
utter  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  in  his  Apology  to 
the  Emperor  Antonius  Pius,  written  about  five 
years  after  the  war,  says  : 

"Jerusalem   has  been  laid  waste,  as  pre- 
dicted."^    That  it  is  guarded  by  you  lest 
63 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

anyone    dwell    in    it,    and    that   death   is 
decreed  against  a  Jew  apprehended  enter- 
ing it,  you  know  very  well.''^'' 
The  edict  of  Hadrian  forbade,  under  penalty 
of   death,  sacrificing  on  the  Sabbath,   reading 
the  Law,  and  practising  the  initiatory  rite  of 
their  religion/^     This  latter  clause,  struck  so 
powerful    a   blow  at  the  foundation  claim   of 
Jewish-Christianity,  that  the  entire  system  was 
shattered. 


64 


VI. 

The   Great   Departure. 

The  early  christians  of  Rome,  were  noted  for 
the  purity  of  their  faithj^  As  years  rolled  on, 
many  converts  came  from  the  schools  of  heathen 
philosophy  and  brought  with  them  fallacies,  char- 
acteristic of  those  systems.  Rome  was  then  the 
acknowledged  military,  commercial,  and  relig- 
ious centre  of  the  world.  As  faith  declined, 
the  field  offered  special  attractions  to  heretical 
teachers. 

Thither  went  Cerdo,  and  established  a  system 
noted  for  its  austerity.  He  prohibited  mar- 
riage, the  eating  of  flesh,  drinking  of  wine,  and 
enjoined  frequent  fastings. 

Marcion  undertook  a  work  of  reform  in  A.  D. 
138,  and  plead  for  greater  simplicity  in  matters 
of  worship.  He  advocated  asceticism  and  celi- 
5  65 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

bacy  and  went  far  astray  on  the  false  doctrine 
of  dualism. 

Valentin  us,  a  cotemporary  of  Marcion,  was  a 
man  of  originality  and  gifted  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  He  indulged  in  wild  speculations  and 
propagated  his  doctrine  of  the  Aeons,  for  which 
he  claimed  special  reyelation. 

In  vain,  Montanus  and  others  protested 
against  increasing  worldliness.  Unquestionably 
the  times  were  greatly  out  of  joint  and  pecu- 
liarly favorable  for  the  inroads  of  error.  This 
is  shown  by  the  words  of  Celsus,  who,  writing 
about  the  divisions  existing  among  christians  in 
A.  D.  160,  says  : 

"At  first,  when  there  were  but  few  of  them, 
all  agreed  ;  but  now  they  have  become  nu- 
merous they  separate  from  one  another ; 
every  man  wishes  to  found  a  new  sect,  and 
now  their  agreement  is  only  in  name." 

This    state  of  affairs   paved  the  way  for  a 
system  of  government  by  Bishops,  which  chris- 
6G 


THE  GREAT  DEPARTURE. 

tians  of  that  day  regarded,  as  the  most  prom- 
ising expedient  for 

"  Rooting  up  the  seeds  of  schisms.''^" 
The  laws  of  the  synagogue  and  the  edict  of 
Hadrian  put  the  Jewish-Christians  into  a  ver- 
itable corner.  Cast  out  by  one  and  prohibited 
by  the  other,  they  were  forced  either  to  come 
into  fellowship  with  their  brethren,  the  Gentile- 
Christians  (as  outlined  in  the  Parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son),  or  to  find  suitable  materials 
for  building  a  structure  of  their  own,  on  an 
entirely  new  basis.  They  chose  the  latter 
course,  and  turned  instinctively  to  the  Schools 
of  the  Rabbi  for  much  of  their  material.  They 
copied  first  the  example  of  making  a  Prince  over 
their  instructors,  whom  they  called  a  Bishop; 
his  assistants  they  called  Priests.  As  regards 
organization,  they  follow^ed  military  precedents. 
All  the  while  keeping  in  view  the  Imperial  wor- 
ship ;  with  its  army  of  Priests,  its  Pontifex  Max- 
imus,  and  its  College  of  Pontiffs^^  who  regulated 
67 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

religious  matters  and  had  in  charge  the  Sibyl- 
line Books.  They  copied  the  idea  of  having 
both  a  written  and  an  oral  law.  The  New 
Testament  constituted  the  written,  and  Tradi- 
tions said  to  have  come  from  the  Apostles  fur- 
nished the  oral.  The  Chain  of  Receivers  of  the 
oral  law,  had  its  counterpart  in  the  Apostolic 
Succession.  They  retained  the  idea  of  the  Pass- 
over, in  the  festival  of  Easter^^  but  counled  with 
it  days  of  fasting,  gradually  increasing  the 
number  from  one  up  to  forty.  As  regards  the 
Apocrypha  they  were  of  the  opinion,  that  popu- 
lar usage  covering  a  period  of  nearly  300  years, 
was  precedent  enough  to  warrant  a  decision  in 
its  favor ;  they  therefore  bound  it  in  with  the 
sacred  text.  The  fact  that  our  Lord  himself 
made  thirty-seven  quotations  from  the  Septua- 
gint,  but  never  once  quoted  from,  or  alluded  to 
the  Apocrypha  in  any  way,  ought  to  have 
served  them  as  a  double-danger  signal.  Their 
failure  to  heed  the  same,  added  to  their  heritage 
68 


THE  GREAT  DEPARTURE. 

three  doctrines  not  found  in  Scripture,  viz. : 
Prayers  for  tlie  dead,  doing  evil  that  good 
may  come,  and  mental  reservation.  Then,  in 
the  year  A.  D.  170 — more  than  one  hundred 
years  subsequent  to  his  martyrdom — the  Apos- 
tle Peter  was  declared  first  Pope  of  the  Roman 
hierarchy.  Following  the  example  of  the  men 
of  the  Great  Synagogue  (the  authors  of  the 
Jewish  Liturgy)  they  compiled  two  Liturgies, 
which  they  labelled  with  the  names  of  St.  James 
and  St.  Mark,  and  published  them  about  the 
year  a.  d.  200. 

Many  other  features  followed,  which  we  have 
not  time  to  enumerate. 


69 


YII. 
Hidden   INI  y  s  t  e  r  i  e  s  . 

The  special  claim  of  the  hierarchy,  rests  on 
the  idea  that  the  Saviour  gave  certain  Com- 
mandments/^ or  rules  of  church  government^  to 
his  Apostles,  which  do  not  appear  in  their  Epis- 
tles, but  were  transmitted  privately  as  '^  Hidden 
Mysteries/'  to  their  Successors.^^ 

Our  Lord  in  reality  did  not  encumber  his 
disciples  with  either  Eitual  or  Rubric,  but 
gradually  revealed  his  will  by  the  Holy  S])irit. 

80  elementary  were  our  Lord's  commands 
that  he  actually  parted  from  his  disciples 
without  making  any  provision  for  the  Gentiles  ! 
His  own  mission  was  to  the  ^^  lost  sheep  of  the 
House  of  Israel."  To  them  he  applied  himself, 
and  during  ten  years  foUoAving  his  ascension  the 
disciples  gave  exclusive  attention  to  the  same 
work.^^  Although  he  made  many  general  allu- 
70 


HIDDEN  MYSTERIES. 

sions  to  the  future  ingathering  of  the  Gentiles — 
as,  for  instance,  '^  Many  shall  come  from  the 
EAST  and  the  west/^^^  also  ^^  Other  sheep  I  have, 
which  are  not  of  this  fold/'^'^ — still  the  language 
was  too  vague  for  ready  comprehension.  The 
Apostles  do  not  seem  to  have  anticipated  such  a 
change,  for  when  the  time  arrived  to  admit  the 
Gentiles,  a  special  revelation  was  necessary. 
To  Peter  had  been  given,  metaphorically, 
the  Keys  of  the  Kingdom.  Already  he  had 
opened  its  doors  to  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  and 
now  it  was  his  duty  to  open  them  to  the  Gen- 
tiles at  Cesarea.  On  his  return,  Peter  was 
obliged  to  defend  his  conduct  and  assure  the 
other  Apostles,  that  the  event  in  which  he  took 
part  was  a  Second  Pentecost,  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.^^  It  is  inconceivable  therefore,  to 
suppose  for  a  single  instant  that  our  Lord's 
"Commandments"^^  had  any  reference  what- 
ever to  a  Ritual  or  Rubric,  binding  on  the  Gen- 
tiles of  his  day,  or  of  any  other  day  since. 
71 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

In  reality  one  cannot  find  in  the  early  writ- 
ings any  sign  of  a  Kitual^  a  Liturgy,  or  of  a 
church  Calendar.  These  inventions  were  an 
after-growth. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  now,  that  for  many  years 
even,  the  Lenten  Season  met  with  uncertain 
favor. 

Irenaeus  wrote  in  a.  d.  190  as  follows  : 

"  The  controversy  is  not  merely  as  regards 
the  day,  but  also  as  regards  the  form  itself 
of  the  fast;  for  some  consider  them- 
selves BOUND  TO  FAST  ONE  DAY,  others 
TWO  DAYS,  others  still  more,  while  others 
do  so  daring  forty  days.^'^^ 

It  was  not  until  A.  D.  325  that  the  Council 
of  Niceae  formulated  the  Nicean  Creed,  and 
decided  that  Easter  must  be  observed  on  a  day, 
that  falls  one  week  later  than  the  Jewish  Pass- 
over. This  decision  established  an  initial  date 
for  the  Calendar,  and  around  it  all  other  dates 
have  been  clustered.  December  25th,  or  Christ- 
72 


HIDDEN  MYSTERIES. 

mas  day,  was  not  chosen  and  set  apart  until  the 
year  a.  d.  410,  when  it  likewise  took  station  in 
the  Calendar.  The  Apostles'  Creed  was  of  still 
later  date — the  seventh  century. 

Thus  '^  by  little  and  little  "  various  innova- 
tions have  been  grafted  on  to  the  parent  stock, 
and  the  surfaces  have  healed  over  so  smoothly, 
that  no  clearly  defined  scars  remain  at  the  pres- 
ent day. 

It  is  perfectly  natural  therefore,  to  meet 
with  a  dearth  of  Form  and  Ritual  in  the  first 
one  hundred  years  of  church  history.  The 
period  was  a  rocky  soil  for  such  fruit. 

AVriting  in  A.  d.  132  Cerdo  truly  said :  "Chris- 
tians have  NO  temples — xo  altars — no  sac- 
rifices— NO  images."  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  simple  or  more  spiritual  than  the 
forms  of  worship  portrayed  in  the  Writings  of 
Pliny  and  Justin  Martyr. 


73 


YIII. 

The   Twelve    Thrones. 

We  pass  now,  from  the  general  resume  of  first 
and  second  century  events,  to  the  foundation  on 
which  the  claim  to  preeminence  has  been  set  up, 
and  remark  that  the  idea  of  a  Succession,  never 
entered  into  or  formed  part  of,  the  Apostle 
Peter's  plan  for  an  Election.^^  With  his  mind 
fixed  on  a  temporal  kingdom,  he  joined  the 
others  in  asking,  ^^  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time 
restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"^'  They 
felt  that  the  time  was  near  at  hand  when  they 
Avould  be  called  "to  sit  on  Thrones  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."^-  When  left  to 
their  own  responsibility,  Peter  at  once  drew 
attention  to  the  fact,  that  only  eleven  Wit- 
nesses had  been  sent  forth,  to  do  the  work  of 
Twelve ;  at  the  same  time  he  realized  that  our 
Lord  left  no  instructions  about  a  Successor  to 
74 


THE  TWELVE  THRONES. 

Judas,  or  to  any  other  Apostle.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  searched  the  Psahus  in  hopes  of 
finding  something  of  a  prophetic  character, 
which  might  support  his  view.  The  disciples 
had  been  instructed  to  wait  or  tarry  in  Jerusa- 
lem^^ until  power  was  conferred  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  With  the  path  of  duty  so  clearly 
marked  out,  Peter  miglit  at  least  have  selected 
wholesome  advice  appropriate  to  the  occasion, 
for  instance,  '^  Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait 
patiently  for  Him.''-'^  Peter  however  felt  they 
ought  to  prepare  for  coming  responsibilities,  by 
filling  out  their  quota  before  the  time  arrived. 

In  support  of  his  view,  a  few  words  were 
taken  from  the  69th  Psalm,  and  after  the  sin- 
gular pronoun  his,  had  been  substituted  for  the 
plural  THEIR,  he  skipped  forty  intermediate 
Psalms,  and  took  his  second  quotation  from 
the  109th.  From  these  two  passages,  he  drew 
the  conclusion,  that  the  disciples  Avere  in  duty 
bound  to  elect  a  Successor  to  Judas.  Un- 
75 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

doiibtedly  these  Psalms  are  Messianic  in  char- 
acter, and  the  quotations  relate  to  the  adver- 
saries of  our  Lord,  the  Jews  and  their  High 
Priest.  The  first  prophecies,  ''  Let  thdr  habi- 
tation be  desolate;  and  let  none  dwell  in  their 
tents/'^^  were  carried  out  to  the  letter  by  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  by  the  Edict  of 
Hadrian.  The  second  j^rophecies,  ^'  Let  his  days 
be  few ;  and  let  another  take  his  Office,"^^ 
found  signal  fulfilment  in  the  history  of  the 
High  Priest  Caiaphas,  who  having  tried  and 
condemned  our  Lord,  was  deterred  from  put- 
ting him  to  death,  only  through  lack  of  author- 
ity.^'' The  guilt  of  Caiaphas,  compared  with 
that  of  Pilate,  was  set  forth  in  tlie  memorable 
words  :  ''  He  that  delivered  me  unto  thee  hath 
the  greater  sin."^^  Josephus  describes  the  jour- 
ney made  by  Yitellius,  Roman  President  of 
Syria,  to  Jerusalem,  a.  d.  36,  and  says  he  re- 
lieved the  people  of  certain  taxes  : 

"  Ordered  Pilate  to  go  to  Rome,  to  answer 
76 


THE  TWELVE  THRONES. 

before  the  Emperor  the  accusations  of  the 
Jews.  Besides  which  he  also  deprived 
Joseph,  who  was  also  called  Caiaphas, 
of  the  High  Priesthood,  and  appointed 
Jonathan,  the  Son  of  Ananus,  the  former 
High  Priest,  to  succeed  him." 

We  learn  therefore,  that  Caiaphas'  days  icere 
feiOj  that  he  was  turned  out  in  disgrace  by  the 
Roman  power  and  that  another  took  his  Office. 
Thus,  those  ancient  prophecies  were  all  fulfilled. 

After  his  Resurrection,  our  Lord  had  more 
than  a  month  available  for  the  selection  of  an- 
other Apostle.  That  he  allowed  time  to  pass 
without  taking  any  action,  shows  a  decision  on 
his  part  not  to  replace  Judas.  Apparently  he 
considered  a  group  of  Eleven  Witnesses  suffi- 
cient in  number  for  the  purpose  he  had  in  view  ; 
at  all  events  he  sent  out  eleven  ^^  only,  and 
made  no  provision  for  any  Successors.  We  are 
forced  to  conclude,  that  the  idea  of  a  succession 
had  no  part  in  the  Divine  Plan  ;  nor  did  it  enter 

77 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

into  the  plan  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  for  his  mind 
was  set  on  a  temporal  kingdom  bounded  by 
his  own  lifetime.  After  Pentecost,  Peter  dis- 
covered his  mistake,  and  we  hear  of  no  subse- 
quent   ELECTIONS. 


78 


IX. 

The  East   and   the   West. 

Although  there  were  no  temporal  thrones 
to  be  apportioned,  there  was  plenty  of  work  to 
be  clone  and  many  fields  to  be  occupied. 

The  Council  at  Jerusalem  in  A.  d.  50  dealt 
with  the  question  of,  how  best  to  unite  the  Jew- 
ish and  Gentile  lines  of  thought  in  the  infant 
church,  but  it  did  not  grapple  with  the  prob- 
lem of  how  best  could  the  leaders  be  distributed. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  went  forth  from  the  Council 
bearing  the  Decrees  and  boldly  preached  the 
word  to  both  parties. 

During  the  following  year,  the  Holy  Spirit 
indicated  his  wishes  in  regard  to  the  question 
of  distributing  the  leaders.  On  three  special 
occasions,  revelations  were  made  to  Paul,  which 
led  him  to  alter  his  plans,  and  avoid  the  prov- 
inces of  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and 
79 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Bithvnia.     He  finally  left  Asia  and  passed  over 
into   Europe.^*'^ 

Since  the  decrees  recognized  two  modes  of 
life  and  worship,  their  respective  advocates  fre- 
quently encountered  each  other.  The  factional 
spirit  at  Corinth,  found  expression  in  the  Avords 
''  I  am  of  Paul,  I  am  of  Apollos,  and  I  am  of 
Peter."  Before  these  discordant  notes  reached 
the  danger  point,  the  Holy  Spirit  appeared  once 
more,  but  this  time  Paul  was  told  to  go  to 
Jerusalem  on  a  special  mission.  This  took 
place  in  the  year  A.  D.  54,  just  fourteen  years 
later  than  his  first  visit.^*^^  The  object  of  the 
mission,  interpreted  by  the  result,  was  to  effect 
a  division  of  the  field  into  what  might  be  called 

the  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  EAST  and  the  DEPART- 
MENT OF  THE  WEST.^'^2 

For  this   journey,  Paul   chose   as   his  com- 
panions Barnabas  and  Titus.     On  their  arrival 
they  presented  the  case  privately,  with  so  much 
tact  and  force  of  argument,  that  James,  Peter, 
80 


THE  EAST  AND  THE  WEST. 

and  John  gave  them  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
and  made  with  them  an  agreement,  promis- 
ing to  devote  their  energies  to  the  Department 
of  the  EAST,  while  Paul  and  Barnabas  took 
charge  of  the  Department  of  the  west. 

Most  christians  would  not  select  the  names 
of  Peter,  Paul,  and  Barnabas  to  point  a  moral 
on  the  beauty  of  concord  and  harmony  in  daily 
life.  They  would  say.  Did  not  Paul  withstand 
Peter  to  the  face  because  he  was  to  be  blamed  ? 
And  was  not  the  contention  between  Barnabas 
and  Paul  so  sharp  that  they  departed  asunder 
one  from  the  other  ? 

All  this  is  very  true ;  yet  the  fact  remains 
that  the  New  Testament  says  they  cherished  no 
ill  feelings  toward  each  other,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, were  speedily  reconciled. 

When  Paul  criticised  Peter  at  Antioch,^*^^ 
Peter  was  simply  trying  to  harmonize  two  dis- 
similar modes  of  life.  The  Council  of  A.  d.  50 
had  tried  the  same  problem  and  had  failed. 
6  81 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

Paul  himself  tried  it  in  A.  D.  58  and  signally 
failed. ^°*  It  was  a  case  where  preaching  was 
easier  than  practising.  The  generous-hearted 
Peter,  however,  took  the  reproof  in  good  part, 
and  the  two  seem  thenceforth  to  have  been  more 
in  accord  than  before,  for  Peter  spoke  of  Paul 
in  the  most  affectionate  manner  as  "  Our  be- 
loved Brother  PauL^'^^^ 

Barnabas  very  properly  differed  with  Paul,  as 
to  what  course  would  prove  best,  for  the  de- 
velopment of  Mark's  character.  He  resolved 
to  stay  by  his  nephew,  until  well-established 
in  the  faith  and  see  him  started  on  a  career  of 
usefulness.  Having  accomplished  this  purpose, 
he  rejoined  his  old  friend  Paul  and  journeyed 
with  him,  as  we  have  seen,  on  that  special  mis- 
sion to  Jerusalem.  Their  life  in  Corinth  was 
one  of  perfect  good  fellows hip,^^''  yet  along 
independent  lines. 

These  incidents  prove  that  the  men  were 
leaders,  who  needed  to  be  separated  before  they 
82 


THE  EAST  AND  THE  WEST. 

could  put  forth  their  best  energies  and  secure 
the  grandest  results. 

Peter,  Paul,  and  Barnabas  had  noble  and 
generous  dispositions.  Each  possessed  a  strong 
individuality,  thought  intensely,  and  acted 
quickly.  AVe  should  always  remember  them 
laboring  amid  their  broader  conditions — when 
each  had  a  clear  path — and  not  as  they  appeared 
cramped  and  limited  by  the  temporizing  decree 
of  the  Council. 

In  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  agreement 
James  took  charge  of  the  churches  at  Jerusa- 
lem ;  Peter  the  churches  of  Pontus,  Bithynia, 
Babylon,  and  the  east  ;  while  Paul  the  churches 
of  Greece,  Italy,  Spain,  and  the  w^est.  •  At  a 
later  date  John  ministered  to  the  seven  churches 
in  the  Province  of  Asia. 

The  Departments  of  the  East  and  the  West, 
viewed  from  a  racial  standpoint,  were  the  re- 
spective homes  of  the  Semitic  and  the  Japhetic 
races. 

83 


X. 

Saixt   Peter   at   Rome. 

The  fallacy  of  this  claim,  will  be  apparent  to 
anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  gather  in 
chronological  order,  the  stirring  events  in  the 
life  of  the  Apostle  Peter.  At  first  his  influence 
at  Jerusalem  was  paramount.  Later  it  began 
to  wane,  and  the  missionary  field  absorbed  his 
attention.  This  work  carried  him  over  Syria 
as  far  as  Antioch,  and  at  a  later  date  possibly 
to  Corinth — within  700  miles  of  Rome — but 
certainly  no  farther  to  the  westAvard.^^^ 

The  division  of  territory  then  took  place  and 
Peter  chose  the  Department  of  the  east,  as 
already  explained. 

He   journeyed   via   Antioch  to    his  field  of 

labor,^*'^  and  devoted  himself  to  preaching  the 

gospel   in   Pontus,   Galatia,   Cappadocia,  Asia, 

and    Bithynia,^^'^    also    in    Babylonia,''^  where 

84 


ST.  PETER  AT  EOME. 

there  was  a  noted  College  of  Rabbis  and  where 
many  Jews  had  remained  after  the  Captivity. 
King  Agrippa  wrote  to  the  Emperor  Caligala, 
about  A.  D.  37,  as  follows  : 

"Jerusalem  is  indeed  my  comitry,  but  it 
is  the  METROPOLIS  not  of  one  region,  but 
of  many — of  Egypt,  Phoenicia,  Syria,  Pam- 
phylia,  Cilicia,  and  the  chief  parts  of  Asia 
as  far  as  Bithynia  and  the  most  remote 
shores  of  the  Euxine.'^ 

The  Jews  were  numerous  in  all  these  coun- 
tries and  the  region  was  always  spoken  of  as 
the  EAST.  This,  then,  was  Peter's  field  ;  while 
Paul,  the  Roman  citizen,  'travelled  even  to 
the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  west.''"^ 

Peter  was  assisted  by  Silas  and  Mark,  and 
labored  in  the  East  from  A.  d.  54  to  the  year 
of  his  death.  Prior  to  A.  d.  54  Silas  labored 
with  Paul  at  Corinth. ^^^  After  that  date,  we 
hear  of  him  only  in  connection  with  Peter's 
work.     In  A.  D.  51  Mark  accompanied  Barna- 

85 


ST.  PP:TER,  apostle  of  ASIA. 

bas  to  Cyprus,  after  which  there  is  a  gap  in 
his  history  until  we  hear  of  him,  working  with 
Peter  at  Babylon.  Eight  years'  association 
with  Peter  wrougiit  a  wonderful  change  in 
Mark's  character.  Before  that  experience,  Paul 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him,^'^  but 
after  Peter's  death  Mark  Avent  to  Rome  and 
rendered  him  valuable  assistance,  so  that  Paul 
frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  become  a 
comfort  unto  him  ^'^  and  was  profitable  to  him 
for  the  ministry. ^^^ 

Peter's  labors  in  the  East  yielded  enormous 
results,  comparable  only  with  those  at  Jeru- 
salem on  and  after  Pentecost.  We  have  in 
corroboration  of  this,  a  letter  written  forty  years 
later  by  Pliny  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  at  which 
time  Peter's  Avork  reached  its  full  fruition. 
Pliny,  Avho  Avas  Governor  of  both  Bithynia  and 
Pontus,  reported  concerning  the  "  Great  Multi- 
tude" of  christians  in  his  provinces,  as  folloA\^s  : 
^^  For  many  persons  of  all  degrees,  of  till 
86 


ST.  PETER  AT  ROME. 

ages,  of  both  sexes,  are  already  and  will  be 
constantly  bronght  into  danger   by   these 
accusations.     Nor  is  this  superstitious  con- 
tagion   confined   only   to    the    Cities ;    it 
spreads  itself  through  the  Villages  and  the 
Country." 
Pliny  then  received,  special  instructions  from 
Trajan ;  carried  them  into  effect,  and  reported 
as  follows  : 

"To  be  sure,  the    Temples,  which  were 
almost  forsaken,  begin  already  to  be  fre- 
quented ;  and  the  holy  solemnities,  which 
were  long  intermitted,  begin  to  be  revived. 
The  sacrifices  begin  to   sell   well    every- 
where, of  which  very  few  purchasers  had 
of  late  appeared ;    whereby  it  is   easy  to 
suppose  how  great  a  multitude  of  men  may 
be   amended,  if   place   for  repentance  be 
admitted." 
This  record  shows,  that  the  foundations  laid 
by   Peter,   Silas   and   Mark   were   broad   and 
deep.     A  w^ork  of  such  magnitude,  of  course, 
required  years  for  its  accomplishment  and  much 
87 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

hard  labor.  AVriting  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Babylon/^^  Peter  addressed  his  converts  in 
the  language  of  a  father  to  his  children.^^''  He 
said  not  a  word  about  any  intention  of  changing 
his  field  of  labor,  but  on  the  contrary,  spoke  of 
his  decease  as  being  near  at  hand  and  likely  to 
happen  at  any  moment.  His  chief  concern  was 
to  do  his  part  up  to  the  last,  toward  keeping  the 
truth  fixed  in  their  remembrance. ^^^  Speak- 
ing of  their  duty  to  the  government,  he  told 
them  to  '^  Submit  to  the  king  as  sapreme,"'^^ 
while  Paul  told  his  converts  to  obey  Princi- 
palities, PoAvers,  and  Magistrates,^-"  showing 
that  the  parties  addressed  lived  under  two  dif- 
ferent forms  of  governments.  Finally,  at  a 
good  old  age,  in  the  midst  of  his  labors  in 
the  EAST,  he  suffered  death  by  martyrdom. 
Clement  tells  us  that  Peter 

^^  By  unjust  envy  underwent  many  suffer- 
ings, till  at  last  being  martyred  he  went 
to  the  place  of  glory."^^^ 
88 


ST.  PETER  AT  ROME. 

He  speaks  of  Peter  as  having  died  at  an  earlier 
date  than  Paul  and  says  nothing  about  who 
ordered  his  death.  But  he  distinctly  states, 
Paul  '^  at  last  suffered  martyrdom  by  the  com- 
mand of  the  Governors,"  viz.,  those  to  whom 
Clement  owed  allegiance — the  Eoman  Govern- 
ment. As  Mark  returned  to  help  Paul  about 
A.  D.  63,  Peter  must  have  died  the  previous 
year.  INIark  undoubtedly  remained  with  him 
until  the  last,  for  it  will  be  remembered  that 
Peter  spoke  lovingly  of  Mark  as  being  a  son  to 
him  in  his  old  age,^-^  beside  Mark's  family  were 
warmly  attached  to  Peter.^^^  We  know  not 
what  frenzy  may  have  seized  the  inhabitants  of 
Babylonia  in  A.  D.  62  ;  but  we  do  know  that  a 
storm  of  unjust  envy  raged  at  Jerusalem,  dur- 
ing that  same  year  and  swept  before  it  ^'the 
brother  of  Jesus  who  was  called  Christ,  whose 
name  was  James,  and  some  of  his  compan- 
ions."^^^  AYe  also  know  that  it  was  the  first  year 
of  the  great  war  between  Rome  and  Parthia. 
89 


ST.  PETEK,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

There  are  two  other  considerations,  which 
show  that  Peter  did  not  establish  Christianity 
in  Eome.  In  the  fall  of  A.  D.  58,  Paul  wrote 
his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  and  told  them  he 
had  always  aimed  to  preach  the  gospel,  '^not 
where  Christ  Avas  named,  lest  I  should  build 
upon  another  man's  foundation/'^^^  Natur- 
ally, Paul  would  have  avoided  Rome,  if 
Peter  had  already  laid  the  foundations.  The 
second  consideration  is  found  in  the  Edict 
of  Claudius,  A.  d.  53,  which  banished  all 
Jews  from  Rome,  and  with  them  the  chris- 
tians, for  they  were  counted  a  sect  of  the 
Jews.  Among  the  latter  were  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla,  who  were  obliged  to  remain  absent  for 
several  years.  That  this  edict  was  effective  is 
shown  by  the  writings  of  Tacitus,  who  speaks 
of  a  decline  in  numbers  after  its  promulgation. 
Suetonius  also  alludes  to  its  effect.  Manifestly 
it  was  no  time  for  Peter  to  go  to  Rome,  nor 
did  Paul  himself  venture  there  after  reaching 
90 


ST.  PETER  AT  ROME. 

Illyricum,  but  put  off  the  trip  until  making  the 
^^  journey  into  Spain.'' 

Notwithstanding  all  tliese  historical  difficul- 
ties, Pope  Damasus  blandly  informs  us,  that 
Peter  occupied  the  Pontifical  Chair  for  a  period 
of 

25  YEARS,  2  MONTHS,  AND  3  DAYS. 

Jerome  says  it  was  an  even  27  years.     Bede 
says  29  years.     Fasciculus  Temporum  says  : 

25  YEARS,  7  MONTHS,  AND  8  DAYS. 

Binius  and  Baronius  say  : 

24  YEARS,  5  MONTHS,  AND  12  DAYS. 

Could  anything  be  more  absurd,  than  one 
and  all  of  these  claims  ?  The  fact  of  the  matter 
is,  Peter  was  too  busy  a  man  to  become  Pope, 
even  if  such  an  Office  had  existed,  and  who- 
ever locates  Peter's  life-work  in  Rome  brands 
him  as  a  covenant  breaker.  Peter  rebuked 
those  who  acted  as  "Lords  over  God's  heri- 

tage."^2« 

91 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

The  Pontifical  Chair  of  Peter's  day  Avas 
without  form  and  void — a  purely  imaginary 
structure ;  nor  had  it  any  occasion  to  come 
into  being,  because  the  proposed  occupant  never 
set  foot  in  the  City  of  Rome,  never  wrote  an 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  never  expressed  a 
wish  to  go  to  Rome.     Witness  also^-"  that : 

Letters  written  in  Rome  never  allude  to 
Peter's  presence. 

Letters  addressed  to  Romans  had  no  message 
for  Peter. 

No  one  ever  met  him  in  Rome  or  saw  him 
there. 

No  Encyclical,  Bull,  or  Allocution  was  issued 
during  his  long  Pontificate. 

Could  one  imagine  a  more  perfect  alibi  ?  Of 
late  years,  the  Arctic  explorers  have  gone  a 
great  deal  nearer  to  the  North  Pole  than  Peter 
ever  went  toward  Rome. 

Peter's  Pontificate  had  no  bounds,  simply 
because  it  had  no  beginning.  It  was  a  fiction 
92 


ST.  PETER  AT  ROME. 

pure  and  simple — a  most  appropriate  foundation 
for  that  other  delusion  and  invention  of  the 
next  century  known  as  the  Apostolic  Succession. 

Peter  the  Kock? 

After  the  declaration,  made  in  A.  d.  170,  that 
Peter  was  the  first  Pope  of  Rome  it  was  but  a 
short  step  to  the  subsequent  claim,  that  Peter 
was  the  Rock  on  which  the  church  of  Christ 
was  founded.  True,  our  Saviour  followed 
Peter's  confession  with 

^^  Thou  art  rrer^ooc,  and  upon  this  nerpa  I 

will  build  my  church,'' 
in  which  the  word  Petros  means  simply  a 
fragment  or  piece  of  rock,  while  Petra  means  a 
great  mass  or  ledge  of  rock.  Peter's  individual 
confession,  ^'  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
Living  God,"  was  a  fragment,  or  sample  of  the 
kind  of  rock  on  which  the  church  would  rest. 
Peter  understood  this  and  proclaimed^^^  that 
Christ  was  the  chief  corner-stone,  and  on  Christ 
93 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

alone  the  church  rested.  He  also  carried  out 
the  same  thought  in  his  epistle.^'^  That  the 
early  church  held  to  the  same  idea,  is  manifest 
from  the  writings  of  Hermas,  brother  of  Pius  I. , 
A.  D.  150.  In  his  ninth  Similitude  he  describes 
allegorically 

^'  The  church  as  a  tower  resting  on  a  huge 

Avhite   rock  higher  than   the  surrounding 

mountains.'' 

He   speaks    also   of   a   gate.     When   asked 

"what  this  rock,  gate,  and  tower  denote"  the 

Shepherd  said  : 

"  Harken,  this  Rock  and  this  gate  are  the 
Son  of  God ;  the  Tower  is  the  Church." 
Thus  spake  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  of  early 
days,  and  the  words  have  no  uncertain  ring. 

It  is  evident  therefore,  that  the  idea  of  "  Peter 
the  Rock "  stands  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
teachings  of  Peter  himself,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  early  churches. 


94 


XI. 

Apostolic   Succession. 

With  the  invention  of  new  forms  of  worship, 
came  the  idea  that  certain  men  have  the  right 
to  rule,  because  they  have  been  endowed  with 
power  from  on  high,  by  laying  on  the  hands  of 
others  who  preceded  them,  back  to  a  like  gift 
conferred  by  the  Apostles.  Unfortunately,  for 
the  promoters  of  this  theory,  all  the  apostles 
died  before  it  was  born.  When  it  did  see  the 
light,  the  world  had  grown  older  by  130  years, 
and  active  measures  had  to  be  taken  to  work  up 
a  plausible  series  of  acceptable  names. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  original 
TWELVE  were  indifferent  to  the  question  of 
holding  power  in  their  own  hands.  Quite  the 
contrary.  When  they  rebuked  one  who  was 
casting  out  devils  in  the  Master's  name,  and  yet 
who  was  too  original  to  tread  precisely  in  Apos- 
95 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

tolio  footste])S,  they  in  turn  were  rebuked  by 
the  Master  for  their  exckisiveness  '^'^  and  taught 
that  the  world  did  not  revolve  about  them  as  a 
centre ;  also  that  the  great  work  of  the  King- 
dom would  go  on  in  various  ways,  quite  inde- 
pendent of  their  permission  or  consent. 

The  first  Chain,  or  list  of  names,  was  prepared 
by  Irenaeus  about  a.  d.  190  and  introduced  with 
the  following  language  : 

^^  The  two  most  glorious  apostles,  Peter 
and  Paul,  having  founded  and  built  up 
the  Church  [at  Rome]  committed  into  the 
hands  of  Linus  the  office  of  the  Episcopate. 
Of  this  Linus,  Paul  makes  mention  in  the 
epistle  to  Timothy.  To  him  succeeded 
Anacletus,  and  after  him,  in  the  third  place 
from  the  Apostles,  Clement  was  alotted  the 
Bishopric.^'^^^ 

His  complete  list  gives  the  names  of  twelve 

Bishops.    The  high  esteem  in  which  the  learned 

Irenaeus  was  held  by  his  cotemporaries,  ought 

to  have  been  a  safeguard  to  his  Apostolic  Tree. 

96 


APOSTOLIC  SUCCESSION. 

Bat  Tertullian — called  the  Prince  of  Latin 
writers — living  at  Rome  only  fifteen  years 
later,  and  possessing  rare  opportunities  for 
knoAving  the  exact  truth,  did  not  hesitate  to 
blot  out  and  remove  the  names  of, 

—PAUL LINUS ANACLETUS.  — 

Nautically  expressed :  Tertullian  parted  two 
Links  and  lost  one  Anchor.  For  he  assures  us, 
that  the  Apostolic  Succession  passed  direct  from 
Peter  to  Clement,  thereby  putting  Clement  in 
the  first  place  from  the  Apostle  Peter,  instead 
of  ^4n  the  Third  place  from  the  Apostles  Peter 
and  Paul.''  He  thus,  at  a  single  blow  destroyed 
the  continuity  of  the  Irenaean  Chain.  Since 
these  contradictory  statements  are  historical  and 
the  authorities  unimpeachable,  we  observe  that 
the  defect  is  at  the  core,  deep-seated,  and  beyond 
the  reach  of  remedies ;  it  is  therefore  fatal  to 
the  entire  system. 

But  laying  aside  the  question  of  mere  con- 
7  97 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

tinuity,  read  the  life  of  Callistus,  a.  d.  223 ; 
study  the  state  of  the  clergy  as  described  by 
Gildas,  A.  D.  564 ;  also  that  which  existed  in 
the  Philippine  Islands  A.  d.  1898,  and  we  shall 
be  wholly  convinced  that  the  scheme — regarded 
in  the  light  of  its  being  a  conductor  of  right- 
eousness— is  a  dismal  failure. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  this  pretended 
right-to-rule,  mieage  of  the  second  century, 
is  a  delusion  only  calculated  to  deceive  those 
who  fail  to  read  first  century  literature. 

Bishop  Brooks,  of  Massachusetts,  said  : 

'^  If  our  Church  does  special  work  in  our 

country,  it  must  be  by not  by  any 

FICTION  of  an  Apostolic  Succession 

There  is  no  such  peculiar  privilege  of 
Commission,  belonging  to  her  or  any  other 
body." 

The  world  is  too  old  to  be  imposed  upon, 
by  a  claim  which  has  no  foundation  in  fact. 
Children  may  for  a  time,  be  made  to  believe 
98 


APOSTOLIC  SUCCESSION. 

that  Saint  Nicholas,  Kris  Kingle,  or  Santa 
Claus  is  a  veritable  personage,  but  when  they 
discover  the  truth,  then  good-by  to  further 
influence  over  their  minds  by  that  fiction. 

'^  Surely  in  vain  the  net  is  spread  in  the 

sight  of  any  bird.''  ^^^ 

Encroachment. 
Our  researches  among  the  writings  of  the 
first  and  second  century,  remind  us  of  a  jour- 
ney once  made  to  points  of  interest  in  ancient 
Jerusalem.  After  we  had  wandered  over  the 
broad  acres  of  the  Temple  platform,  and  care- 
fully examined  the  Mosque  El-Aksa  and 
Mosque  of  Omar,  we  visited  the  old  pier  in  the 
Tyropoeon  Valley,  that  once  supported  the 
Royal  bridge  to  Zion.  The  pathway  leads 
thence  along  the  Ophel  wall,  past  the  southeast 
angle  of  the  Temple  area,  where  a  shaft  was 
dug  by  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  That 
excavation  was  sunk  through  eighty  feet  of 
debris — the  accumulation  of  almost  3000  years. 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

A  short  gallery  there  leads  toward  the  original 
wall  of  Solomon,  and  suddenly  the  giant  foun- 
dation stones  confront  the  traveller.  Although 
these  have  laid  hidden  for  ages,  their  surfaces 
show  tool-marks  as  plainly  as  if  they  were 
the  work  of  yesterday.  The  vermilion  quarry 
marks  are  also  visible. 

We  contrast  the  wonderful  blocks  of  mam- 
moth proportion,  with  the  flimsy  stucco  and 
materials  of  the  Mosque  overhead,  and  per- 
ceive that  the  old  foundations  have  been 
loaded  with  superstructures  of  an  inferior  order, 
consecrated  to  entirely  different  purposes. 

In  much  the  same  way  human  systems,  have 
been  constructed  over  the  Divine  foundation 
and  put  forth  claims  for  acceptance  and  obe- 
dience, for  which  they  never  had  in  the  past, 
nor  do  they  now  have,  any  authority  whatsoever. 

They  trespass  on  holy  ground,  as  surely  as 
the  Mohammedan  trespasses  on  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Temple. 

100 


THE  CHURCHES. 

Unity  in  Diveesity. 
In  a  Country  like  our  own,  where  everyone 
has  a  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  all  churches,  in 
the  eye  of  the  law,  stand  on  the  same  footing, 
and  education  being  free  likewise,  all  children 
inherit  the  right  to  receive  secular  knowledge 
apart  from  religious  training.  This  being  the 
case,  the  law  cannot  possibly  recognize  any  one 
church  as  the  "Mother  and  Mistress  of  all 
Churches,"  ^^^  for  the  very  idea  of  preemi- 
nence, is  directly  opposed  to  freedom  of  con- 
science. To  allow  such  doctrine  taught  in  the 
public  schools,  would  be  an  abandonment  of 
religious  liberty.  To  be  Mother  and  Mistress 
of  All,  means  subjugation  and  vassalage,  a  con- 
dition not  to  be  tolerated  among  freemen. 
If  you  acknowledge  any  church  as  mother 
and  MISTRESS  in  the  religious  and  educational 
world,   you   will    soon    have   a   father   and 

MASTER  in  the  political  world  ! 
101 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

The  early  christian  idea,  was  in  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  our  own  institutions,  for  it 
contemplated  a  unity  ix  diversity.  There  is 
just  as  little  common  sense,  in  laboring  to  bring 
all  nations  under  one  government,  or  all  nations 
to  speak  one  language,  as  there  is  in  striving  to 
bring  all  churches  under  one  control.  The  book 
of  Revelation  constantly  speaks  of  ^'  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches,''  but  utters 
not  a  word  about  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 

THE    CHURCH. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  right  to  form 
numerous  organizations  is  of  Divine  origin,  also 
that  true  independence  is  a  recognized  privilege. 

No  better  conditions  than  these  can  be  im- 
agined for  the  promotion  of  true  fellowship,  viz. : 
Supremacy  for  none,  sincere  respect  for  all. 


102 


XII. 

Tradition  —  Revelation. 

Divine  authority  has  recorded  the  fact,  that 
prior  to  the  christian  era,  Tradition  inter- 
mingled with  truth  more  and  more,  until  finally 
a  limit  was  reached,  at  which  Tradition  com- 
pletely neutralized  the  influence  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.^^* 

That  such  a  state  of  affairs  could  exist  in  Old 
Testament  times,  proves  that  Tradition  is  a  very 
dangerous  element.  Its  influence,  therefore, 
should  be  closely  watched  and  checked  before 
it  undermines  the  New  Testament  also.  We 
have  seen  what  fairy  stories,  it  worked  in  with 
the  history  of  the  second  century,  and  we  em- 
phatically declare,  that  Tradition  can  never  be 
made  a  basis  of  fellowship  among  christians. 
No  !  not  while  the  world  endures  ! 
103 


ST.  PETER,  APOSTLE  OF  ASIA. 

We  have  seen  that  the  leading  events  of  the 
great  departure  were  introduced,  on  the  ^'by- 
little-and-little ''  principle,  and  as  one  of  its 
noted  contributors  frankly  acknowledges  :  their 
great  "  variety ''  was  due  to  the  "  Simplicity 
or  Private  Faxcy"  of  his  "  predecessors  ! "  ^^ 


Let  us  skim  from  our  crucible  the  dross  of 
the  ages  and  come  to  the  only  centre  of  unity, 
the 

HOLY  BIBLE. 

The  book  for  all  Nations,  the  one  book  that 
never  grows  old.  Around  the  Sacred  Volume 
christians  of  every  name  can  gather,  and  walk- 
ing in  its  light  will  find  fellowship,  peace  and 
eternal  life. 

Exalt  then,  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  the  very 
utmost ;  no  eminence  can  be  too  great !     Give 
them  a  place  distinct  and  wholly  their  own, 
104 


TRADITION— REVELATION. 

Suffer  no  human  composition,  to  intrude  upon 
their  sanctity  under  any  pretence,  no  matter 
what  the  antiquity  or  how  eminent  the  piety 
and  virtue  of  the  author.  Teach  the  children 
to  love,  study,  and  treasure  the  bible  as  the 
very  word  of  God.  Translate  it  also  into  all 
languages,  and  share  it  freely  with  all  mankind. 


X05 


REFERENCES 


1.  Mark  iv.  10— Luke  xxiv.  33  and  9— Acts  i.  21  and 

22. 

2.  Luke  X.  1  to  20— Mark  iv.  10. 

3.  Ephesians  ii.  20— Matthew  xxiii.  34— Acts  xv.  32 

— Acts  xiii.  1. 

4.  John  iv.  24. 

5.  Acts  i.  21  and  22— John  ii.  2  to  11— John  iv.  1 

and  2. 

6.  Luke  vi.  13— Matthew  x.  7— Mark  vi.  12— Luke 

ix.  2. 

7.  Matthew  x.  6— John  xv.  27— Acts  i.  8 — Acts  x.  39. 

8.  Mark  iv.  10  and  11. 

9.  Matthew  ix.  36  to  38— Luke  x.  1  and  2. 

The  Twelve  and  the  Seventy  received  substantially 
the  same  instructions,  and  in  both  undertakings 
prayer  preceded  work. 

10.  Luke  X.  1  and  17. 

11.  Luke  ix.  6  and  10. 

12.  Luke  xxiv.  33. 

13.  Acts  i.  6  to  15. 

107 


REFERENCES. 

14.  1  Corinthians  xv.  6. 

15.  Luke  xxiv.  33  and  49 — Acts  ii.  1. 

16.  Acts  ii.  4. 

17.  Acts  viii.  1  and  4 — Acts  ix.  31 — Acts  xi.  21  and  24 

—Greek,  "Myriads"— Acts  xxi.  20. 

18.  Acts  ix.  10— Acts  xxii.  12. 

19.  Acts  vi.  8. 

20.  Acts  xi.  24. 

21.  Acts  XV.  22,  26  and  32. 

22.  2  Corinthians  viii.  18  and  19 — Colossians  iv.  14. 

23.  Acts  xi.  21. 

24.  Acts  xiii.  1,  2,  3— Acts  ix,  17— Acts  xi.  15,  17,  19 

and  21 — Acts  viii.  5  to  8. 

25.  Acts  ix.  1  and  18 — Acts  xxii.  14  and  15. 

26.  Galatians  i.  12  to  17. 

27.  Acts  ix.  15 — Romans  xi.  13. 

28.  Galatians  i.  1. 

29.  Galatians  i.  12 — 1  Corinthians  xi.  23 — Acts  xx.  35 

— 1  Thessalonians  iv.  15  to  17. 

30.  Galatians  i.  18. 

31.  Josephus,  Jewish  War,  B.  VII.,  chap.  v.  5  and  7. 

32.  The  fact  that  Josephus  was  made  custodian  of  the 

' '  Holy  Books  by  Titus'  concession  "  gives  great 
.weight  to  his  substitution  of  ''4  years"  for  40 
years  in    2    Samuel   xv.    7 — Life   of    Flavins 
Josephus,  paragraph  75. 
108 


REFERENCES. 

33.  Acts  iv.  24  to  31— Acts  x.  35— Acts  xii.  12. 

34.  Act  xvi.  13— Acts  xx.  36  and  37— Acts  xxi.  5. 

35.  1  Thessalonians  iv.  15  to  18 — Revelation  xxii.  20. 

36.  Ephesians  iv.  11 — 1  Corinthians  xii.  28 — Luke  xi. 

49. 

37.  1  Corinthians  v.  9. 

38.  J  ude,  3d  verse. 

39.  2  Corinthians  viii.  18. 

40.  Acts  xix.  19. 

41.  2  Timothy  iv.  13. 

42.  Colossians  iv.  16—1  Thessalonians  v.  27 — 2  Peter 

iii.  16 — 2  Corinthians  viii.  18. 

43.  Hebrews  xiii.  23—2  Corinthians  i.  1. 

44.  Acts  xvii.  4,  18  and  28 — Acts  xviii.  4  and  11. 

45.  1  Timothy  iv.  14. 

46.  Hebrews  iv.  8. 

47.  Acts  XX.  17  and  28. 

48.  1  Peter  v.  1  and  2— James  v.  14 

49.  1  Timothy  iii.  1  to  8—1  Timothy  v.  17,  18  and  19 

—Titus  i.  5  to  9. 

50.  Acts  xiv.  23 

51.  Titus  i.  5. 

52.  Psalms  cix.  8. 

53.  Acts  vi.  1  to  6—1  Timothy  iii.  8  to  13— Romans 

xvi.  1  and  2—1  Timothy  v.  3,  5,  9  and  10— 
Acts  ix.  36,  39  and  41— Pliny's  Epistle  No.  49. 
109 


REFERENCES. 

54.  Titus  i.  5,  Revised  Version. — Clement   and   tlie 

Didache. 

55.  See  the  Didache,  also  writings  of  Papias. 

56.  Philippians  iv.  3. 

57.  Eusebius  styles  it  "great  and  admirable." 

58.  1  Corinthians  i.  2. 

59.  Septuagint  version,  Isaiah  Ix.  17. 

60.  Acts,  chapter  xv. 

61.  Epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians. 

62.  Like  Paul,  in  Ephesians  vi.  18. 

63.  Acts  xiv.  23. 

64.  Titus  i.  5. 

65.  Hermas,  Vision  II.,  article  4. 

66.  Hermas,  chapter  xxvii. 

67.  Liber  Pontificalis. 

68.  John  xviii.  36. 

69.  Exodus  xxiv.  12 — Deuteronomy  xxxi.  26. 

70.  Exodus  xxiv.  18. 

71.  Justin  Martyr,  chapter  Ixxi. 

72.  Justin  Martyr,  chapter  xxxviii. 

73.  Acts  xviii.  12  to  16. 

74.  Annals  of  Tacitus,  Liber  XIV. 

75.  Pliny's  Epistle  No.  97. 

76.  Isaiah  i.  7. 

77.  Justin  Martyr,  chapter  xlvii. 

78.  Acts  XV.  1. 

110 


REFERENCES. 

79.  Romans  i.  8— Romans  xvi.  19. 

80.  See  Jerome  on  church  government. 

81.  Pliny  records  that  a  certain  town  in  his  province 

wished  to  build  a  Forum,  and  that  the  plans 
required  a  small  strip  of  consecrated  ground. 
Before  the  authorities  could  move  in  the  matter 
they  were  obliged  to  write  to  Rome  and  secure 
the  consent  of  the  College  of  Pontiffs. 
Seneca  says  that  " Sb  solemn  Pontifical  Hymn" 
was  sung  at  the  dedication  of  the  Capitol. 

82.  The    word    "Easter"    does    not    appear    in    the 

Revised  Version.     See  Acts  xii.  4. 

In  A,  D.  190  the  Lenten  Season  had  only  1  Fasting 
day.      [Precedents  ranged  from  1  to  40.] 

In  A.  D.  430  the  Lenten  Season  had  only  15  Fasting 
days  ;  equal  to  3  weeks,  less  Saturdays  and  Sun- 
days. 

In  A.  D.  590  the  Lenten  Season  had  only  36  Fasting 
days  ;  equal  to  6  weeks,  less  Sundays  only. 

In  A.  D.  800  the  Lenten  Season  had  40  Fasting 
days  ;  equal  to  6  weeks  plus  4  days,  less  Sundays. 

83.  Acts  i.  2—2  Peter  iii.  2. 

84.  See  Irenaeus  on  Apostolic  Tradition. 

85.  Acts  xi.  19. 

86.  Matthew  viii.  11. 

87.  John  X.  16. 

Ill 


KEFERENCES. 

88.  Acts  xi.  ]5  and  17— Acts  xv.  7,  8  and  9. 

89.  Acts  i.  2. 

90.  Acts  i.  16  to  22. 

91.  Acts  i.  6. 

92.  Matthew  xix.  28— Luke  xxii.  30. 

93.  Luke  xxiv.  49 — Acts  i.  4. 

94.  Psalms  xxxvii.  7. 

95.  Psalms  Ixix.  25. 

96.  Psalms  cix.  8. 

97.  John  xviii.  31. 

98.  John  xix.  11. 

99.  Luke  xxiv.  33,  47  and  48— Matthew  xxviii.  16, 19 

and  20. 

100.  Acts  xvi.  6,  7  and  9. 

101.  Galatians  ii.  1  to  9 — Acts  xviii.  22 

102.  Joshua  i.  4 — Matthew  viii.  11 — Romans  xv.  19. 

103.  Galatians  ii.  11  to  14. 

104.  Acts  xxi.  18  to  28. 

105.  2  Peter  iii.  15. 

106.  1  Corinthians  ix.  6. 

107.  1  Corinthians  i.  2  and  12— Romans  xv.  23  and  20. 

108.  Galatians  ii.  11. 

109.  1  Peter  i.  1. 

110.  1  Peter  v.  13 — .Joseph lis  xviii.  ix.  1. 

111.  Clement  to  Corinthians,  chap.  v. 


112 


REFERENCES. 

112.  1  Peter  v.   12  and  13— Acts  xviii.    5  and  11— 

2  Corinthians  i.  19. 

113.  Acts  XV.  38. 

114.  Colossians  iv.  10  and  11. 

115.  2  Timothy  iv.  11. 

116.  1  Peter  v.  12  and  13. 

117.  1  Peter  i.  13,  14  and  15. 

118.  2  Peter  i.  13,  14  and  15— John  xxi.  19. 

119.  1  Peter  ii.  13. 

120.  Titus  iii.  1. 

121.  Clement,  chap.  v. — Foretold  John  xxi.  18. 

122.  1  Peter  v.  13—2  Peter  i.  14. 

123.  Acts  xii.  12  to  17. 

124.  Joseph  us,  Liber  XX.,  chap,  ix, — xviii.  9, 1  and  9. 
We  can  form  some  idea  of  the  hardships  endured 

by  the  Jews  around  Babylon  from  the  fact  that 
at  Selucia,  forty  miles  distant,  the  Syrians  and 
the  Greeks  ceased  contending  with  each  other 
in  A.  D.  36  and  united  in  a  general  slaughter  of 
the  Jews.  The  latter  fled  to  Ctesiphon,  and 
even  there  they  continued  to  be  objects  of  per- 
secution. 

125.  Romans  xv.  19,  20  and  23 — Romans  i.  10  to  15. 
For  many  years,  the  Gospel  had  been  so  thoroughly 

preached  (all  the  way  from  Jerusalem  to  the 
Adriatic  Coast)  that  Paul  declared,  the  pioneer 
8  113 


REFERENCES. 

work  finished,  and  there  remained  **no  more 
place  in  these  parts."  Hence  his  great  desire 
to  journey  Westward. 

126.  1  Peter  v.  3  and  4. 

127.  Colossians  iv.  10  to  15 — Romans  xvi.  3  to  23 — 

Acts  xxviii.  21. 

Review. 

From  A.  D.  40  to  a.  d.  50  Peter  must  have  devoted 
his  time  exclusively  to  the  Jews,  for  he  had 
NO  NEW  FACTS,  regarding  the  Gentiles,  to  pre- 
sent to  the  Council  of  a.  d.  50  ;  but  was  obliged 
to  draw  conclusions,  from  what  he  says  hap- 
pened   **A  GOOD   WHILE   AGO."      [ActS  XV.  7.] 

Paul  and  Barnabas  on  the  contrary,  came  fresh 
from  the  work  in  Cilicia,  and  spoke  interest- 
ingly of  RECENT  "miracles  and  wonders, 
wrought  among  the  Gentiles."  [Acts  xv.  12.] 
Any  experiences  at  Rome,  would  have  been 
most  welcome  and  of  great  weight  in  shaping 
the  final  decision.  But  Cilicia  was  the  extreme 
limit  (in  A.  d.  50)  of  Apostolic  preaching. 

At  the  Council  of  A.  d.  54,  every  one  present  rec- 
ognized the  fact,  that  work  among  the  Jews, 
had  been  specially  committed  to  Peter  [Gala- 
tians  ii.  7,  8,  and  9],  and  it  was  decided,  he 
114 


REFERENCES. 

should  continue  permanently  in  the  same 
field.  The  life-work  of  Peter  therefore  was  de- 
voted to  his  own  Nation.  [Acts  ii.  39 — 1  Peter 
i.L] 

Summary. 

No  Gentiles  were  received  before  a.d.  40,  hence  : — 
St.  Peter  was  not  at  Rome  prior  to  a.  d.  40,  also 

"  u     u     u       .(     between      ''     40-50. 

a  (I      (I      (I         n  a  ((     50-54. 

u  <<<<(<       u  ii  u     54—62. 

The  obligation  to  avoid  Rome,  continued  to  the 
day  of  St.  Peter's  death,  and  the  great  Apostle 
of  Asia  faithfully  kept  his  word. 


128.  Acts  iv.  11  and  12. 

129.  1  Peter  ii.  4  to  8. 

130.  Mark  ix.  39— Luke  xxii.  24. 

131.  Irenaeus,  Liber  III.,  chap.  iii. 

132.  Proverbs  i.  17. 

133.  St.  Vincent's  Manual,  p.  48. 

134.  Mark  vii.  13. 

135.  Irenaeus  says:    ''This   variety   our    predecessors 

(some  of  them  probably  being  not  very  accurate) 
handed  down  to  posterity,  as  it  had  through 
Simplicity  or  Private  Fancy  been  intro- 
duced among  the"— See  Ref.  82. 
115 


IMPORTANT   DATES. 


Julius  Cesar  put  to  death March  b.  c.  44 

Herod  made  King Summer  "      37 

Battle  of  Actium Fall  "      31 

Birth  of  Christ Spring  a.  d.     1 

Tiberius  made  Emperor Fall  ''      14 

The  Crucifixion Spring  "      33 

Conversion  of  St.  Paul '•'      37 

St.  Peter  admitted  the  Gentiles '^      40 

Famine  began .  * '      45 

Council  at  Jerusalem "      50 

Edict  of  Claudius *'      53 

Agreement — The  East  and  the  West     .     .     .     .  "      54 

St.  Paul  taken  to  Eome *'      60 

Persecution  by  Nero "      65 

Jewish  "War  began "      66 

Death  of  Nero "      67 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem    . "70 

Persecution  by  Domitian ^'      95 

Pliny,  Governor  of  Bithynia * '    109 

Writings  of  Poly  carp "120 

Edict  of  Hadrian "130 

Numerous  Heresies "    138 

Hyginus  arranged  the  Clergy "    140 

117 


SAINT  PETER'S   AGE. 


The  Known. 

A.  D.  30.  Home  in  the  City  of  Bethsaida 

"    33.  Pentecost,  3000  converted  .     . 

"    40.  Admitted  the  Gentiles  .     .     . 

' '     44.  Rescued  by  an  Angel      .     .     . 

"    50.  Council  at  Jerusalem     .     .     . 

"    54.  Agreement — The  East  chosen 

"     57.  Referred  to,  by  St.  Paul     .     . 


INTERVAL. 

3  years. 

7      *' 

4  " 
6  " 
4  " 
3      " 

27      '' 


The  Unknown. 

The  earliest  record  of  St.  Peter's  life,  speaks  of  him  as 
being  a  married  man,  a  partner  in  the  business  of  John 
and  James,  sons  of  Zebedee  ;  and  living  in  the  same  house 
as  his  brother  Andrew.  The  narrative  displays  a  maturity 
of  character,  which  goes  well  with  the  age  of  thirty. 

Assuming  this  figure  as  correct,  also  that  he  died  in 
A.  D.  62,  it  follows  that  he  spent  eight  years  in  preach- 
ing the  gospel  throughout  the  East,  and  attained  the  age 
of  65  years. 

Note  :    It  is  necessary  also,  to  give  St.  Paul's  age  as  we 
are  largely  dependent  on  the  events  of  his  life,  for  de- 
termining the  chronology  of  St.  Peter. 
118 


SAINT   PAUL'S   AGE. 


The  Known. 
D.  37.  Went  to  Arabia. 

40.  Spent  15  days  with  St.  Peter 
54.  Special  mission  to  Jerusalem 

57.  Left  Ephesus 

58,  Imprisoned  by  Felix  .  .  . 
60.  Sent  to  Eome  by  Festus  .  . 
62.  Liberated  by  Nero 


INTERVAL. 

.  3  years. 
14 
3 
1 
2 
2 


25 
The  Unknown. 

Assuming  that  the  journey  into  Spain,  was  finished  the 
last  year  of  Nero's  reign,  Paul  enjoyed  5  years  of  freedom. 
His  age  at  time  of  conversion  is  unknown,  but  as  Josephus 
at  25  years  of  age  could  represent  the  High  Priest  at 
Nero's  Tribunal  ;  it  was  quite  proper,  for  Paul  at  25 
years  of  age,  to  represent  him  at  Damascus.  If  both 
conjectures  are  true,  St.  Paul  attained  the  age  of  55  years. 

It  is  an  easy  matter,^  to  put  together  the  known  intervals 
and  find,  that  25  years  is  their  total  ;  but  the  process  of 
anchoring  those  years  in  the  midst  of  the  century,  re- 
quires a  close  study  of  Joseph us^  and  Tacitus.  From 
these  authors  we  have  the  following  fixed  dates:  — 
119 


ST.  PAUL'S  AGE. 


Roman  Emperors. 

Tiberius A.  d.  14-37 

Caligula ''    37-41 

Claudius ''    41-54 

Nero *'    54-67 

Procurators  of  Judea. 

Fadus A.  D.  45-47 


Alexander 

Cumanus 

{1st  term  office  .     .     . 
2d     ' '      Insurrection 


Felix 


47-49 
49-52 
52-54 

54-56 
56-58 
58-  ? 
?  -62 
62-64 
64-66 


3d     "     Sedition  .     . 
I   4th    ' '  Syrians  and  Greeks 
Festus  (Sicarri  routed)   ... 

Albinus 

Florus .     . 

Jewish  War  began       .... 

Query  : — What  year  then  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  wos  most 
propitious  for  the  liberation  of  the  Apostle  Paul?  We 
reply  most  emphatically,  the  year  a.  d.  62. 

In  the  preceding  year,  Festus  died  and  a  new  Procurator 
went  into  office.  Felix  himself  was  brought  to  t^-ial,  but 
Nero  "yielded  to  the  importunate  solicitations  of  Felix's 
brother  Pallas,"  (the  Prime  Minister)  and  pardoned  Felix 
of  all  offences,  charged  by  the  people  of  Cesarea.  Besides 
120 


ST.  PAUL'S  AGE. 

a  delegation  of  Temple  officials  were  in  Rome  and  secured, 
through  the  influence  of  Poppea  (Nero's  wife)  special 
privileges  for  their  nation.  In  the  year  62,  Josephus  went 
to  Rome  and  through  the  same  influence,  secured  liberty 
for  many  priests,  who  had  been  imprisoned  by  Felix. 

But  Felix,  was  not  the  only  man  who  had  a  friend  at 
Court.  There  were  many  Christians  in  "  Cesar's  House- 
hold," and  their  pleading  availed  for  him,  who  had  done 
"  nothing  worthy  of  death  or  of  bonds  ;"  whom  both  Felix 
and  Festus  acknowledged,  they  held  purely  on  technical 
grounds.  The  year  62  therefore,  is  our  starting  point. 
Subtract  the  4  years  of  imprisonment  and  we  have  A.  d. 
58,  the  year  of  St.  Paul's  arrest.  The  other  dates  follow 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

1  Gal.  i.  17, 18— Gal.  ii.  1  to  9— Acts  xx.  81— Acts  xxiv.  27— Acts 
xxvii.  1— Acts  xxviii.  30— Phil.  iv.  22. 

"  Josephus  XX.  11, 1— ii  14,  2— vi.  5,  3— xx.  9,  1— xx.  8,  9— ii.  12, ' 
— ii.  13,  2— XX.  5,  2— XX.  5,  1— ii.  11,  6— xx.  8,  11— Life  of  Jos.  i.  2,  3. 

Epistle  to  Galatians  was  written  a.  d.  55— To  Corinthians  a.  d.  57 
—To  Romans  a.  d.  58. 


121 


B.C.   AND   A.D, 


Graphic  Solution. 
Augustus  Cesar  began  to  reign  Spring  b.  c.  44 


Herod  made  Eang- 


A  A 


Battle  Actium 


37 


Birth  of  Christ- 


'Death  of  Herod 


yrs 


yrs 


13    yrs 


End  of  Augustus'  reign 


13)^ 


yrs 


Fall 


13>^ 


yrs 


57^ 


yrs 


Spring 


Fall 


yrs 


A.  D.  1. 


Fall  A.  D.  14 


122 


B.  C.  AND  A.  D. 

Many  cling  to  the  belief,  that  A.  d.  1  has  been  im- 
properly located  and  that  the  birth  of  Christ,  took  place 
in  the  year  b.  c.  4.  This  idea  is  altogether  erroneous  and 
is  based  on  the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers.  The  testi- 
mony of  a  single  author,  who  lived  in  those  times  and 
wrote  with  all  the  care  and  accuracy  displayed  by  Flavins 
Josephus,  is  more  valuable  than  the  testimony  of  1000 
authors  of  later  date.  With  the  figures  supplied  by 
Josephus^  and  with  one  well-known  date  for  an  anchor, 
let  us  test  the  case  and  discover  the  truth  : — 

First,  with  regard  to  the  seasons  ? 

We  would  remark,  that  every  Bethlehemite,  resident  in 
Nazareth,  travelled  130  miles  once  a  year  attending  the 
Passover.  Were  he  to  make  a  second  journey,  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  being  enrolled  in  his  native  town,  he  would 
cover  a  distance  of  270  miles.  It  certainly  would  be  more 
natural  for  him,  to  make  one  journey  answer  both  pur- 
poses, thus  saving  expense  and  great  fatigue  to  himself 
and  family.  Now  couple  with  this  consideration,  the  fact 
that  shepherds  were  "abiding  in  the  field  and  keeping 
watch  by  night  over  their  flock  "  and  the  conclusion  seems 
irresistible  that  the  Birth  of  Christ,  took  place  about  the 
time  of  the  Passover. 


123 


B.  C.  AND  A.  D. 
Second,  with  regard  to  the  year? 

Augustus  Cesar  reigned 57.]  yrs. 

Before  the  Battle  of  Actium      .     .     .  ISh    *' 

44   yrs. 

Herod  reigned 37    yrs. 

Before  the  Battle  of  Actium      .     .     .     6     ''      31     " 

Therefore,  Augustus  outlived  Herod       .     .     .     .13     " 
But  Herod  lived  in  A.  d n  " 

It  follows  Augustus  lived  in  A.  D 13]    " 

Now  it  is  known,  that  Augustus  Cesar's  reign  ended  in 
the  Fall  of  a.  d.  14,  which  date  is  13]  years  after  the 
Spring  of  A.  D.  1.  From  which  we  learn,  that  a.  d.  1 
was  properly  located,  and  truly  represents  the  year  when 
Christ  was  born. 

As  regards  his  public  ministry,  our  Lord  "began  to  be 
about  30  years  of  age"  in  the  15th  year  of  Tiberius'  reign,^ 
he  must  have  attained  the  priestly  majority  of  30  years,  in 
the  16th  year  of  Tiberius.  Add  therefore  16  to  a.  d.  14 
and  we  find  the  year,  in  which  he  commenced  his  public 
ministry  viz  :  A.  d.  30. 

1  Josephus  xviii.  2,  2— xv.  5,  2— i.  19,  3— xvii.  8.  1— i.  33,  8. 

2  Luke  iii.  1  and  23— Numbers,  iv.  chap. 


124 


INDEX 


Agreement,  81,  83 
Anacletus,  96 
Ananias  of  Damascus,  15 
Angel  of  the  Church,  42 
Antioch,  40,  43,  81,  84 
Antonius  Pius,  50,  63 
Apocrypha,  59,  60,  68 
A  polios,  80 

Apostles,  7,  9,  16,  70,  95 
Apostles'  Creed,  73 


Bishop,  27,  29,  30,  31,  35, 
36,  41,  48,  49,  50,  52,  53, 
54,  66,  67,  96 
Bishop  Brooks,  98 
Bishop  of  Rome,  43 
Bishopric,  30,  96 
Bithynia,   28,  83,  84,  85,  86 
Book  of  Hebrews,  27 
Book  of  Eevelation,  102 
Books  and  libraries,  22 


Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  16    Books  of  the  Law,  18 


Apostle  John,  43,  45,  46 
Apostolic  authority,  105 
Apostolic  Footsteps,  95,  96 
Apostolic  Succession,  68,  70, 

92,  95,  96,  97,  98,  104 
Apostolic  traditions,  68 
Apostolic  writers,  10 
Appoint,  32,  48  _ 
Aquila  and  Priscilla,  90 
Arabia,  16 

Army  organization,  54 
Asia;  28,  80,  83,  84 


Booksellers,  24 
Broad  platform,  11 
By-little-and- little,  53,  104 


Caiaphas,  76 
Calendar,  72,  73 
Callistus,  98 
Candle,  32 
Candle-stick,  32 
Cappadocia,  28,  84 
Cast  out,  61 
Celsus,  66 
Cerdo,  65,  73 
Babylon,  56,  83,  86,  88,  89    Cesarea,  56,  71 
Bar-Cochebas,  63  Chain  of  Eeceivers,  57,  68 

Barnabas,  15,  79,  80,  81,  85  Changes  of  titles,  33 
Baronius,  Bede,  Binius,  91  Children,  31,  47,  98 
B.  C.  and  A.  D.,  122  Christianity,  63,  90 

125 


INDEX. 


Christians,  65,  86,  103 
Christian  worship,  50 
Church,  93,  94,  96,  98 
Church  at  Corinth,  34 
Church  at  Ephesus,  42 
Church  at  Rome,  34 
Church  government,  12 
Clement,  26,  33,  88,  96,  97 
Clergy,  31,  53,  98 
Clothing,  food,  conduct,  38 
College  of  Pontiffs,  67 
College  of  Rabbis,  85 
Commandments,  70,  71 
Confirm,  32 
Converts,  13,  14,  47,  65 
Copyists,  23 
Corinth,  25,  80,  84,  85 
Council  at  Jerusalem,  17,  38 
Council  of  Niceae,  72 


Damascus,  16 
Day  of  Pentecost,  14,  78 
Days  of  fasting,  68 
Deacons,  30, 36,41,  44,  48, 51 
Deaconesses,  30 
Dean  Stanley,  30 
Decline  of  faith,  65 
Decrees,  63,  79,  80,  105 
Definitions,  26 
Delusion,  93,  98 
Department  of  the  East,  80 
Department  of  the  West,  80 
Didache,  39,  47 
Diognetus,  37,  38 
Divine  command,  28,  103 
Divine  plan,  77,  100 
Divine  right,  105 


Division  of  territory,  84 
Domitian,  39,  63 


Early  writings,  20,  26 

East  and  the  West,  71,  79 

Easter,  68,  72 

Edict  of  Claudius,  90 

Education,  101 

Elders,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  35, 

36,  46,  52,  53,  56 
Eleven  Apostles,  9,  77 
Emperor  Caligula,  85 
Ephesian  books,  24 
Ephesians,  29,  50 
Episcopate,  30,  96 
Epistle  of  Barnabas,  39 
Eusebius,  34,  46 
Exclusiveness,  96 
Euxine,  85 


Father  and  Master,  101 
Fellowship,  103,  105 
Fiction,  92,  98,  99 
Food,  32,  38 
Foreigner,  32 
Formality,  20 


Galatia,  28,  84 

Gallio,  62 

Gemara,  59 

Gentiles,  17,  38,  71 

Gentile-Christian,  67,  69 

Gildas,  98 

Governors,  89 

Great  Departure,  55,  65, 104 


126 


INDEX. 


Great  Synagogue,  59,  69 
Greek  words,  27 


Hadrian,  63,  64,  67 
Hearsay  evidence,  8 
Heathen  philosophy,  65 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  26,  59 
Heretical  teachers,  65 
Heritage,  68,  91 
Hidden  Mysteries,  70 
Hierarchy,  69 
Pligh  Priest,  76 
Holy  Bible,  58,  105 
Hyginus,  53 

Ignatius,  40,  41,  42,  43 
Important  dates,  117 
Individual  government,  53 
Initiatory  rite,  64 
Irenaeus,  45,  46,  96,  97 

James,  80,  83,  89 
Jerome,  53,  91 
Jerusalem,  15,  17,  34,  38, 

56,  63,  71,  75,  76,  80,  83, 

84,  85,  86,  89,  99 
Jewish-Christians,  17, 54, 61, 

64,  67,  69 
Jewish  Liturgy,  69 
Jews,  17,  58,  62,  76,  85,  90 
Josephus,  22,  24,  60,  76 
Justin   Martyr,  50,  60,  61, 


King  Agrippa,  85 


Laeelt.ing,  10,  69,  73 
Law  of  Moses,  17,  62 
Laying-on-of-hands,  15,  58 
Lenten  Season,  82,  72 
Linus,  96 
Liturgy,  72 

Liturgy  of  St.  James,  69 
Liturgy  of  St.  Mark,  69 
Luke,  15,  21 


Maccabean  War,  59 
Majority  commands,  36 
Marcion,  65 
Mark,  85,  86,  87,  89 
Martyrdom,  88,  89 
Memoirs  of  Apostles,  51 
Mental  reservation,  68 
Miraculous  powers,  18 
Mirage,  98 
Mishna,  58 
Montanus,  66 
Moses,  18,  56 

Mother  and  Mistress  of  All, 
101 


Nero,  34,  63 

New  Testament,  18,  20,  26, 

81,  103,  105 
New  Titles,  33 
Nicean  Creed,  72 
No  Altars,  No  Images,  73 


Office,  30,  76 

Old  Testament,  59,  60,  103 

Oral  law,  56 


127 


INDEX. 


Organizations,  102 
Overseer,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31 


Papias,  45 
Passover,  32,  68,  72 
Pastors,  20,  42 
Paul,  1(),  17,  25,  28,  33,  34, 
62,  69,  79,  80,  81,  82,  83, 

85,  86,  88,  89,  90,  96 
Pentateuch,  56 
Persecutions,  16,  63 
Peter,  28,  69,  74,  75,  78,  83, 

84,  85,  86,  87,  88,  89,  90, 
91,  92,  93,  94,  96,  97,  104 

Pilate,  76 

Pius  I.,  94 

Pliny  the  Elder,  22 

Pliny  the  Younger,  24,  73, 

86,  87 
Plutarch,  23 

Polycarp,  26,  43,  44,  45,  47 
Pontifical  Chair,  91,  92,93 
Ppntus,  28,  79,  83,  84,  86 
Pope  Clement  I. ,  35 
Pope  Daniasus,  53,  91 
Prayer,  20 

Prayers  for  the  dead,  68 
Preeminence,  38,  74,  105 
Presbyters,   27,  36,  37,  41, 

44,  47 
President,  42,  43,  51,  52 
Priests,  67 

Primitive  custom,  50 
Private  Libraries,  25 
Prophecies,  76,  77 
Prophets,  8,  31,  49 
Public  Libraries,  25 

1 


Public  Notaries,  23 
Public  Schools,  101 
Publishers,  25 


Kabbi,  58,  60,  67 
Receivers  of  Oral  Law,  57 
References,  107 
i  Religio  Licita,  62,  63 
Religious  liberty,  101 
Religious  sovereignty,  62 
Revelation,  19,  103 
Revised  Version,  30 
Ritual,  70,  72,  73 
Romans,  63,  85,  89 
Rome,  24,  50,  65, 84,  86,  89, 
90,  92,  97,  104 


Saints,  31,  38,  45,  48 

Sanhedrin,  56 

Seeds  of  Schisms,  65,  66 

Seneca,  22 

Septuagint,  56,  60,  88 

Settle,  32 

Seven  Churches,  83 

Shepherd  of  Hernias,  52,  94 

Sibylline  Books,  68 

Silas,  15,  85,  87 

Sorcery  books,  24 

Smyrna,  25,  44 

Spain.  83,  91 

Special  Mission,  80 

Stenography,  23 

St.  Nicholas,  99 

St.  Paul's  age,  119 
I  St.  Peter's  age,  liS 
!  Suetonius,  90 
28 


INDEX. 


Sunday,  51 
Superstitious,  32 
Synagogue,  56,  67 
Syria,  15,  76,  84,  85 


Tacitus,  22,  90 
Talmud,  59 
Teachers,  20,  60 
Tertullian.  97 
The  Church,  31,  102 
The  Churches,  101,  102 
The  East,  83,  84,  85,  86 
Theological  schools,  56 
The  Seventy,  13 
The  Temple,  18,  99 
The  Twelve,  10,  13,  95 
Timothy,  25,  96 


Titus,  29,  80 
Tradition,  19,  103 
Trajan,  63,  87 
Trypho,  (.1 
Twelve  Thrones,  74,  79 


Unity,  106 

Unity  in  Diversity,  101 


Valentinus,  66 
Vassalage,  101 
Vespasian,  25 
Vitellius,  76 


Written  Law,  56,  68 


129 


Date  Due 

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